Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur'
by Super Tinfoil Man Part 2
Summary: Indiana Jones is searching for the Golden Cross of Zampur', but a shady rival archeologist is also on the hunt, Frank Van Holderman. The adventure continues in ...chapter 15 - Alexandropolis-
1. The Assistant

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur'**

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_Author - Super_Tinfoil_Man_Part2_

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Disclaimer - I don't own Indiana Jones.

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**Chapter 1 - The Assistant -**

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_**Hungary - Northeast of Budapest - 1947**_

James Pierson looked long and hard across the field of long grass; he and his assistant stood only a mile and a half from the picturesque Ma'tra Mountains. He came from a rich family and his clothes reflected the fact, with small trinkets lining his collar of his white leather travel coat. Archeology being a mere hobby, the prospect of this trip interested his assistant more than himself. He took off his overly large fedora and wiped his brow.

"It's just ahead, past that hill. There should be a pile of large boulders blocking the entrance to an old cave." James pointed past the field. He picked up his fancy travel bag and continued walking in the long grass.

"Yes sir." Indiana Jones picked up his light tan bag and followed James into the grass.

James casually swatted mosquitoes away from his neck as they neared the large boulders blocking the entrance to the cave. James lowered his travel bag and walked around the largest boulder to the side.

"A year ago we chipped away on this side with a special power drill; you can see here there is enough room for a man to slip inside the entrance. Unfortunately, we were chased off the sight by the local military; my assistant had already made it inside the cave. We never saw him again. "James wiped away some pebbles from the mouth of the man sized hole dug into the side where the boulder met the side of the hill.

"I think we better be careful in here." Indy said dropping his bag.

"Why is that my friend?" James said looking at his assistant.

"See that curved branch sticking out of the ground over there?" Indy nodded in the direction of the branch.

"Yes, what about it?"

"The Maywai tribe used these unique shaped sticks to warn others of traps. There's no doubt there's a quite a few in here. "Indy got down on his hands and knees and peered into the hole.

"Well, the treasure that is rumoured to be here, it better be worth it." James said patting Indy on the back.

Indy stood up and wiped the dirt from the front of his pants. "I'll crawl in first and light a torch, I'll call out to you to crawl through." James nodded his agreement.

Indy pulled a handmade torch out of his bag; he got back on his belly and started to crawl inside the hole. Must've taken two days to carve this. Ahead there was nothing but darkness, the deeper he crawled in the darker it became. He felt the sensation of a larger crawl space; he lifted his head and was surprised that it didn't bump rock. He stood up in the complete darkness. He lit his torch and the cave lit up in a dark orange, casting flickering shadows around the cave walls. He felt the damp wall with his hand and rubbed the moisture between his fingers. The area he was in was still only a small cave entrance with a large crack in the wall at the end of the cave._ There._

"James!" Indy leaned down and yelled into the crawl space while holding the torch as low as he could.

"Coming!" James could be heard, but it sounded muffled.

After a while James finally crawled his way into the cave where Indy waited. Indy had to bite his lip from saying anything too out of line to the man; he was getting a good payday from him.

"We'll head through that fissure there," Indy pointed at the fissure with his torch, lighting it up for James to see, "stay behind me, falling into a spike trap ruins most holidays."

James grinned, "After you, Mr. Jones."

Indy used his hand to cut away a thick spider web draping across the passageway, a palm sized spider quickly crawled up and out of sight. James followed him as closely as possible as they inched through the passageway, they were assaulted by a wave of musty, damp smells as they passed a large tree trunk embedded into the side of the rock wall. The uneven rock floor became smooth as tile. Indy raised a hand to James behind him.

"Wait. The trunk was probably a marker. "Indy leaned down and picked up a palm sized rock, he tossed it underhand on the smooth rock floor. The rock made light ticking sounds that echoed further down the passageway, it stopped tumbling a dozen yards away, with no traps activated. Indy frowned then slowly started walking on the smooth surface.

They walked without incident until they reached a crude constructed staircase, heading down into the darkness. Indy tested the top rock step very slowly, nothing. He nodded at James then they started to descend down the staircase. Indy stopped after ten steps down, his torch started to show the legs of a corpse lying on the steps.

"I think I found your assistant." Indy almost whispered.

"Perry?" James leaned past Indy to see, and then gulped visibly.

Indy reached forward with the torch to see a headless body lying face down on the steps, with a blackened piece of a spent torch next to the body. "Don't move." Indy said as he took another two careful steps down towards the body. Indy lightly touched the step behind the legs of the headless corpse, he could hear the step scraping on the sides and giving away, he quickly took his boot off of the step.

"Follow me and do exactly as I do." Indy said as he returned to James, his employer gave Indy a bit of a stern look. Indy continued with, "Sir."

Indiana took a long exaggerated step over the loose rock step in question, James copied his actions soon after. They continued down the steps until they reached a large section of cave that stretched into the darkness, large boulders and carved stone lions decorated the area in front of them. There were multiple pathways they could take now, around these large obstacles. Indy noticed the intricate detail carved into the smooth stone floor, pictures of tiny flowers and thorns carved into the stone, and then smoothed over.

"Such wonderful detail!" James reached out and touched a section of the wall where a Minotaur was carved onto it, surrounded by large birds. Indy inwardly winced. _Don't touch anything._

"What do you think...?" James was interrupted by a loud click that stopped him in his tracks.

"Move!" Indiana screamed but it was too late, a huge spear shot out of the floor and pierced through James's back and out is chest. A few droplets of blood splashed on Indy's cheek as he looked on startled. He took a step backwards in slight shock, CLICK!

"Huh!" Indy grunted and did a quick side dive as a large wooden spear shot out of a hole in the floor where he once stood, he landed hard on his side and rolled while his torch twirled in the air and landed flame first on the ground sending sparks and tiny flames around Indy, CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! He barely rolled out of the way of each spear as they trusted in the air; one spear ripped the bottom sleeve of his jacket, barely missing skin. He settled his breathing down and stayed as still as possible on the trap sensitive floor. He reached over and picked up his torch. He slowly stood up and caught a glimpse of the still standing James Pierson, impaled on the spear trap.

"Not a very good start." Indy muttered to himself then continued on his way.

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End of chapter 1 - Please review!


	2. The Ica Stone

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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_Chapter 2 - The Ica Stone -_

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**I**ndiana Jones carefully walked around the tiles marked with thorns, he had figured out that they were the tiles that held the spear traps. There were two possible ways to go from here, on his immediate left there was a small path with two large lion statues on both sides. On the far right there was a wider path with several old vines strung waist high across it. Not chancing a trip to the right path with all those floor tiles in between, Indy decided the left path seemed a better choice.

He walked down the narrow path, watching closely for any traps. He lifted the torch a little higher to see ahead, the path started to widen, then the path dissappeared into the darkness. There was no floor left but one little foot width beam, stretching into the dark.

"Great. " Indy muttered and looked up for any ledges above him, there was nothing but smooth rock and wall carvings of ancient warriors. He stood there for a moment, weighing his options, he could walk back and around to try the right path, or take his chances with the small beam in front of him.

He took a deep breath and tested the strength of the beam with his foot. The rock beam didn't waver at all. He then took another extremely slow step on the beam. He stood there with one foot in front of the other to practice his balance. He took one slow step at a time with both arms spread apart to keep his balance, his upper torso tipped to one side for a second, taking his breath away, he touched himself on the side of the neck with the torch by accident and let out a little yelp, he quickly regained balance and stood still for a moment. _Piece of cake. _

He could see the other side now and make out a wall with what looked like masks all over it, and took a few more slow steps then noticed something strange. The wall and floor were starting to slowly move towards the roof. Indy narrowed his eyes to try and make sense of what was going on, he took another step and the far wall and floor picked up speed towards the roof. " Huh ! " He quickly realized the beam he was standing on was tipping towards the other side, he threw the torch in front of him on the sandy floor and ran the rest of the way, the floor was just about past his head when he jumped and grabbbed onto the side of it.

He grunted and pulled himself up on the sandy floor. He layed on his back and took a few breaths. He stood up, picked up his dark brown fedora off of the floor and walked towards the torch. The torch on the floor was making the few hundred masks on the wall flicker and move with the orange shadows, they looked like they were changing expressions with every flicker.

He picked up the torch and leaned closer to the masks. They were all exactly the same, with a mean expression and multiple rings through each nostril. He walked left and right touching and trying to move each mask, nothing. He turned and walked back to the edge, deciding an escape route if necessary, he saw the beam had returned to it's original position. He walked over to the other side and saw three long vines hanging in the middle of the dark space between here and the other side. _Great choices, fall to my death or fall to my death. _

He turned back to the masks and prodded them some more. " Dammit! " He cursed after awhile of no results and hit one of the masks hard with his palm. To his surprise the mask crumpled easily and fell around his feet. The wall where the mask was had a thick line in the center, going in behind each mask bordering it. He hit the next mask and it crumpled as easily as the fiirst one had. The line continued on, he started breaking each mask until he had a line in the wall that started to curve downwards. He took the next mask down and hit that one with his palm, he cursed when the mask didn't break, instead the mask moved inside the wall slowly, making scarping rock noises as it vanished from sight. A part of the ceiling broke away and Indy dove out of the way just in time as rock and sand hit the ground where he was standing. He sat there coughing inside a dust cloud.

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He stood up and walked over to the recess where the mask had retreated inside the wall. He held the torch close to the hole and saw a small end of a rope hanging out of the end. He reached in and pulled the rope, a huge banging and clanking noise could be heard behind the wall, then the entire surface of it moved, breaking masks as it did. The wall opened in the middle and slid to both sides, breaking all the remaining masks.

The next room was completely done over in marble, in the center of the room sat a small pedestal, with a black rock sitting on top of it. The rock was the size of a small loaf of bread, and shaped in a similar fashion. There were several small engravings on it, as well as two green triangle jewels on both ends of the rock. Indy stared at the rock for a moment, _what in the world is this? Where is the treasures James talked about? _He unhooked his pack and placed the rock inside it. The pedistal slowly started moving down inside the floor, he could hear a growing, rumbling sound. _When will I ever learn ? _He spun around to see the wall closing up quickly, he jumped and did a front roll just as the wall slammed shut. A huge crack started to form on the walls like bolts of lightning, with dust and rocks pouring out of them. He stood up quickly as huge piece of the ceiling crashed down on the floor to his right, vibrating his legs and almost making him fall back over.

" This can't be good." Indy said, staring at his torch. The flames were dying quickly, soon he'd be in pitch blackness. He ran to the edge of the floor and looked to his right, the rock beam, then to his left , the three vines. Another huge part of the ceiling crashed down behind him creating a mushroom cloud of dust shooting under his legs. His torch flickered at the gust of wind. _Stay lit. Stay lit. _

There was a constant loud rumble now and boulders were falling left and right, into the pitch black hole under the vines. The ground Indy stood on started to shake as large cracks appeared in the floor. Indy took a few steps back, bit on the torch and ran to the edge of the floor, he jumped and grabbed the first vine. The floor where he once stood crumbled away in a loud racket of rubbing boulders and rocks. Indy swung on the vine and reached out for the second one, he barely missed it with his fingers. He pulled with every muscle in his body and tried to gain momentum on his vine, his eyes grew wide as he looked up. The torch in his mouth had lit his vine on fire! He jumped and grabbed the second vine just as his previous vine snapped and fell in a coiled burning decent. The second vine quickly fell away and he got the immediate sensation of freefalling, he quickly reached down and yanked out his bullwhip, he cracked it at the third vine, coiling it around just in time. He swung and landed hard on his back on the other side. The walls and statues were crumbling away leaving clouds of dust and rock everywhere.

He stood up and retrieved his bullwhip. He turned and ran down the path he rejected earlier. He jumped over the vines that stretched across his path, the last vine he caught with the toe of his boot, moving it a little. A huge tree trunk smashed out of the wall right to the other side of the path, Indy jumped forward and did a shoulder roll, narrowly avoiding getting crushed by the huge trunk, but he dropped his torch in the process, which got buried inside the trunk and opposite wall. Now he was in complete darkness as the cave started to collapse all around him. _Now THIS is bad, very bad. _He still had a long, spear springed, tiled floor to cross on his way to the staircase.

Indy felt the massive impact of sections of the ceiling and large boulders to his right crash into the floor. He remembered the entry point to this room and took off running in long strides, he could hear the clicks of the tiles then the swoop-tang of the spears shooting out of them, he reached the bottom step and fell on his face. He crawled on his hands and knees up the staircase, a fist sized rock hit him hard on the top of his shoulder, stunning him for a moment. He heard dozens of smaller rocks tumbling down the stairs towards him. He stood up and let the rocks pass, some nicking his legs. He continued his upward crawl until his hand got stuck inside something. He yanked it free then felt around ahead of him. _Sorry, Perry. _He had stuck his hand inside the neck cavity of the corpse.

He avoided the stair trap and entered the section of the cave where he began. He jumped to his belly and started to crawl to the outside.

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Indiana Jones was briefly blinded by the bright sunlight as he crawled out of the hole in the side of the boulder. He shielded his eyes with one dusty hand, there were small scrapes and cuts on his face now and he had a thin layer of dust all over his body. He took his hand away from his face to see a small garrison of Russian troops standing just inside the long grass, all staring at him. A camoflaged jeep pulled to a stop behind the machine gun toting soldiers as they stood in deadly silence, waiting for Indy to move just an inch to test their guns on him. A large Russian general stepped out of the jeep on the driver side, nodded and said something in Russian as his men moved aside. Behind the general walked a man in his mid fifties, with a black overcoat and a white silk shirt visible near the top of the front. He had completely gray hair and walked with a fancy looking walking stick. The general stood aside for the man, who made his way to Indiana with a big smile on his face, showing perfectly white teeth. His cheekbones sat high on his face and looked to be chisled off by a rock carver.

" Hello, Dr. Jones. " The man said stepping right in front of Indy, who was still on the ground panting.

" Have we met ?" Indy grunted leaning up on one elbow.

" No, unfortunately we have not. My name is Frank Van Holderman. You've probably heard of me. " Frank smiled wickedly as he leaned on the black walking stick with both hands.

" The Van Holderman museums in Chicago. " Indy said with little interest.

" That's me. Tell me, how is your father doing? " Frank looked back at the large general, who was busy growling at one of his men. Frank rolled his eyes.

" None of your business. " Indy responded then felt his shoulder and gave a noticable wince of pain.

" Henry is an old friend of mine. We were both chasing the Holy Grail you know. He got there way ahead of me. Brilliant man, " Frank had a distant look in his eyes now as he flipped the walking stick under his armpit and stuck out his hand, " now I'll only ask this once Jones, give me the stone. "

" He had a little help. " Indy grunted as he slowly rolled to his back then sat up. He felt around in his bag for the stone, instead his hand grasped his revolver. He held it for a moment and looked long and hard at Frank, then at the Russians surrounding them. _Not today, buddy. _He passed the black stone over to Frank, the old man held the stone and had a child like excitement wash over his face.

" The Ica Stone, the real one. " Frank almost whispered to himself.

" Whatever that means. So we'll part ways now ? " Indy said conversationally as he stood up.

Frank looked at Indy and laughed, then he waved at the general behind him. The general walked past Frank and grabbed Indy's arm in a vice-like grip. Indy looked at Frank as he was being hauled away, the old man was staring at the stone transfixed.

" I've got a fist with your name on it Holderman! " Indy called out.

" I'm sure you do, but I'm afraid we'll never see each other again. " Frank turned and gave Indy his ultra-white smile.

Indy's vision blacked out with a hard gun butt to the back of his skull.

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End of Chapter 2 -


	3. Variables

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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**Chapter 3 - **Variables **- **

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_I'm alive..._

Indiana Jones opened his eyes to a blurred, dark room with forms sitting along the walls on either side. He blinked a few times to clear his vision when the throbbing pain at the back of his skull started to pound like a jackhammer. He tried to stand up but heavy chains attached to his ankle and one collared to his neck prevented him from standing.

" Welcome to hell. " A woman said to his immediate left.

Indy turned in the direction of the voice, clearing his vision. There was an American woman, chained up a few feet away, just like him. She had dark brown hair, shoulder length and a moon shaped face. She was a bulky woman, wearing loose fitting pants and a red shirt.

" Who'r you? " Indy muttered, still feeling the effects of a machine gun butt to the back of the skull.

" Alexis Boone. I'd shake your hand but, well... " She rattled her chains.

" Indiana Jones, S'pleasure. " Indy muttered and looked around the dirty cell at the other captives. The remaining people looked dead, or nearly dieing to him. A large rat poked and prodded around one of their feet, with no reaction from the man.

" Are you a spy too ? " Alexis asked quickly in a hushed whisper.

" No. " Indy answered, she was starting to irritate him.

" They suspect me to be a spy, I'll be a dead woman soon. " She moved into a different position to get comfortable, rattling her chains with each movement.

" So what are you doing behind the iron curtain ? " She asked with her back turned to him.

" Working for a guy named James Pierson. A rich guy, wanted to go and find the ring of Alexander the Great, supposedly transported here from Greece in five hundred AD. To make a long story short, James killed himself in a booby trap, I found a rock instead of a ring and now I'm here. " Indy tried to sit up a little higher to ease the pain of the chain cuff digging into his ankle.

" Sounds like good times, " Alexis smiled, " I was caught spying on this Russian facility north of here for weapon movements. Apparently my disguise didn't fool the god fearing locals and they turned me in."

" In this case, god meaning the Russians." Indy used Russians making it sound like a curse word.

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" Who is that other American sitting next to the woman ? " A Russian wearing an overcoat asked the guard in his native tongue, he was peering through the cell door window bars at the prisoners.

" I don't know. He was taken here by Kolov, the man never tells us anything. " The guard responded in Russian as well.

" They must be working together, American spies! " The overcoat wearing Russian spit on the ground to emphasize his statement.

" The woman is tough, she will not respond to our torture. She is not saying anything, it might be some kind of... " The guard was pushed aside by the overcoat Russian.

" Let _**me**_ speak to them both. I'll have them talking in five minutes. You ! " He pointed to one guard, " open this gate , and you ! " he pointed to the other guard, " keep an eye on my back! Shoot them if they even think of trying to make a run for it. "

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The door of the cell creaked open, most of the prisoners didn't react. The few that were alive raised their heads hoping for a meal, but lowered them when they saw who walked through the door.

" Joseph Stalin. " Indiana Jones said to himself as the Communist Leader walked in the cell, with his overcoat and bushy mustache he reminded Indy of a former dictator, but with a bigger mustache.

" American spies. Come with me. " Stalin said in a mock form of hospitality in a thick Russian accent. Two guards reached down and unlocked Alexis from her chains. They did the same to Indy as an armed guard covered them from beside Stalin.

" From the frying pan and ..." Alexis said from the other end of the coffee stained table.

" Don't say it. " Indy scowled silently, they were both chained to metal chairs in a different part of the building.

" No doubt where we are now, must be a Russian base. I can't believe Joseph Stalin is here. He usually leaves this kind of dirty work to his generals. " Alexis was looking right at Indy, but he was ignoring her.

" Shut up will ya? More thinking and less yapping. " Indy looked all around his chair for a weak point.

" Nice. You're a real charmer , Virginia Jones. " Alexis started looking around her chair as well.

" It's Indiana ! I'm starting to get real pi..." The door to the room swung open revealing Joseph Stalin.

" Today, you will talk! " He slammed the door behind him, the wind from it moved Alexis's hair.

Joseph Stalin placed a thick leather bag on the table and pulled up a chair. He sat down and stared at his prisoners.

" You won't get a thing outta me. " Indiana Jones sat up a little straighter, then lifted his chin up in a show of defiance.

" We don't have much time. " Stalin said in an American accent. Indy and Alexis had an immediate look of surprise on their faces.

Joseph Stalin emptied the bag on the table revealing Indy's fedora, his leather jacket, leather pouches, his revolver, Alexis's clothes, her own revolver and a brown purse.

" My name is Seth Pachier, I've come to free you Alexis. " He said, looking at his fellow agent.

" Seth ! I can't believe that's you ! " Alexis almost screamed. Seth held a finger to his mouth then screamed vulgarities in Russian, he then told her to scream in sign language, she complied. Indy winced.

" We weren't planning on rescuing anyone else, but there you are. " Seth nodded at Indy.

" I don't want to be an inconvenience or anything. " Indy said sarcastically.

" I'm going to walk the both of you down to the basement area, there's two guards outside this door and a guard at the door to the moat built into the building. There's about fifty or more guards scattered in the upper floors. I have a motorboat waiting for us in the moat. Don't say a word, let me do all the talking in case we are confronted. " Seth said then they made their exit from the room.

" I'm taking them to the laundry room, " Seth said in Russian to the guards as they gave some questioning looks at the Americans, " they'll see what it feels like to be hung out to dry! " The guards gave the Stalin impersonator a fake laugh then turned and walked the other way.

_What the hell did he mean by that ? _Indy couldn't believe the predicament he was in, from the cave to a cell and now getting rescued in twenty four hours. They jogged down the hallway, Seth leading the way.

" How do you plan on getting us out of Budapest ? " Alexis asked as they jogged.

" I have a plane in..." Seth stopped talking when he heard footsteps around the corner in front of him.

Seth opened a door and quickly rushed Indy and Alexis into a room. A few guards walked by, talking loudly.

" I thought you had all of this planned out Seth. " Indy growled as they huddled together inside the small janitors closet.

" Variables, Mr..." Seth held out his hand for help.

" Virginia Jones. " Alexis answered for him.

" It's Indiana Jones. I.N.D.I.A.N.A Jones ! Could you try and remember that? " Indy yelled.

" Indiana Jones, I like that name. " Seth gave Indy a smile. That bothered Indy considering Seth still looked like Joseph Stalin.

" I can live with it. " Indy said listening for more soldiers.

" What I was trying to say, every plan has variables. I've been trained to deal with this kind of thing. Just follow my lead and we'll get through this. " Seth opened the door and they entered the hallway again.

They quickly made their way down to the end of the hall, they turned the corner and skidded to a stop to the back of a magazine. The back of the magazine slowly lowered revealing Joseph Stalin. He cocked his head to one side as he stared at himself in between the two Americans.

" This looks like one of those variables. " Indiana said then punched the real Joseph Stalin sending the magazine flying and the communist leader knocked out of the floor.

Indy and Seth took off running, Alexis stood in one spot with her mouth wide open.

" Come on! " Indy turned and yelled at her, she snapped out of it and followed them.

Seth sent a soldier guarding the moat door sprawling into a crate, knocked out. He opened the door and motioned for them to follow, they jumped in an old motor boat. Indy started the engine and Seth steered them out of the secret moat out into the Danube River.

" Take that damn mask off ! " Indy yelled over the engine.

" Oh ya! " Seth yelled and motioned for Alexis to take the wheel.

Seth peeled away the mask and pulled off the mustache to reveal a young man in his twenties with blond hair and blue eyes.

_Just a kid. Pretty brave for a pretty boy. _

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Thump !

Kolov landed hard on his back inside the Russian base. Joseph Stalin stood behind his main general Oleg Bazhukov, a muscle bound man Indy's age with a painted on mean expression with bits of gray mixed through his brown hair. Stalin had a hankie held to his nose but his eyes were ripe with fury.

" Who is this Indiana Jones ? " Oleg screamed at Kolov, the man who transported Indy to the base, in his native tongue.

" Some treasure hunter from America. We assisted Frank Van Holderman to a sight were we met with Jones crawling out of a cave. He gave Frank a stone he called - The Ica Stone- or something like that. I was saving him for your personal investigation Oleg. " Kolov held his jaw as he spoke.

" What is so special about this stone ? " Stalin asked Oleg through the hankie.

" If our friend Van Holderman wants it, then it must be important. " Oleg rubbed his chisled chin, deep in thought.

" Why don't you find out for me, " Stalin touched Oleg's shoulder, " and kill Indiana Jones on your way there! "

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End of chapter 3


	4. Escaping Budapest

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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_Chapter 4 - Escaping Budapest -_

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" How much longer ? " Alexis yelled over the noise of the motorboat engine. Seth took his eyes off the wheel for a moment on the busy river of Danube'. They kept close to larger merchant vessels to keep out of sight to patrolling guards along the other side of the river, on land.

" Not much longer! " Seth yelled back. Indiana Jones sat at the back of the boat, eyeing every ship they passed, making sure there wasn't any over interested passengers looking at them.

" There's something wrong! " Indy called out. Alexis walked back to where Indy sat, then crouched next to him.

" What is it ? " She yelled practically in his ear.

" We haven't run into any Russian patrol boats in the last twenty minutes, not even a smaller police boat. We need to turn around or get off this river now. " Indy stood up to let Seth know, leaving Alexis to chew on those thoughts.

" Seth ... " Indy touched the younger man's shoulder but stopped talking when he followed the agents gaze ahead.

Blocking nearly the entire width of the river sat three larger Russian patrol boats thirty seven meters long each, with two dozen smaller motorboats patrolling around them. They were checking every boat that crossed their path, some soldiers jumping right on the boats and interrogating the surprised passengers.

Seth started to turn the boat around but Indy stopped him by grabbing the wheel himself. " Don't ! They'll spot us ! Keep going up along side this merchant boat ! " They kept close to the large boat next to them, the choppy water almost making them slam into the side of it.

Alexis had her revolver out and kept it close to her thigh. " What are you guys planning ? "

Seth felt her apprehension, " What ARE you planning Jones ? We won't make it past that patrol. "

Indy looked off to the shore towards a large, dark green military truck making its way up the street, keeping pace with them. " Trust me. " He grinned at Seth. The young agent moved to the passenger side as Indy took control of the motor boat.

Indy pulled away from the merchant boat as it started to slow down nearing the Russian patrol blockade. He started to speed up towards three black motor boat patrols idling next to one of the large patrol ships.

" Stay down and hold on to something ! " Indy yelled.

" Ship, slow your speed or you will be fired on ! " A loud announcement boomed in Russian over one of the loudspeakers on the large Russian patrol boat.

Indy sped up more and crashed into one of the small motorboats, sending three Russian soldiers flying as his boat ramped into the air and landed on the other side. Machine gun fire cracked from all over now, sending splashes of water around their boat flicking up in the air. Six motor boats quickly pursued them as soldiers fired from the larger patrol boat, a few shots hit the top part of the side railing of Seth's boat sending small chunks of wood and plastic flying in the air and inside the boat. Alexis took some shots at the boats following them.

" Some plan Jones ! " Seth screamed as he took two shots at the boats then ducked quickly.

Indy did a sharp right turn nearly flipping the boat upsidedown as they caught a wave, Alexis barely caught herself from being flung off the boat. A rocket splashed then exploded on the water where they just were, sending a large spray of water into the air. He was heading straight for the shore at a suicidal speed now.

" Whoa, no no no ! " Seth yelled as he saw what Indy was doing.

Indy slammed into the shore as Seth and Alexis threw themselves on the floor of the boat and covered their heads, the boat skidded along the shore sending dirt flying up into the air then ramped up a smooth sided boulder into the air. Two Russian motorboat patrols tried the same manuever but slammed into rougher boulders creating mushroom cloud explosions with a shower of wooden planks flying in every direction of the shore.

Indy had a shocked expression on his face as their boat glided through the air, he then ducked as the boat crashed into the back of the dark green military truck.

" You are out of your damn mind. " Seth grunted as he tried to gather his senses.

" Worked, didn't it. " Indy said and examined his cut arm under his ripped sleeve. The truck came to a halt and the soldier jumped out of the driver side door to see what ran into him.

The soldier stood there scratching his head at the sight of a motorboat impaled into the back of his truck.

" Hi ! " Indy said standing next to the soldier, he then punched the soldier quickly before he could react. The soldier spun around then landed on his back on the road.

" Come on ! " Indy yelled to the agents as he could see three Russian jeeps quickly making their way through traffic towards them. Alexis and Seth followed Indy to the cab of the truck. Indy put the truck in gear and started to drive away when the soldier he punched jumped up on the side of his door. Indy shot out an elbow and caught the soldier right in the face sending him flying off the side of the truck and bouncing hard off the street. Indy pushed a smaller car off the road as he bullied his way up the street towards the outskirts of the city.

" Keep going another few miles here and pull off to that dirt road. " Seth said looking in his rearview mirror, the jeeps were gaining on them.

" What about those jeeps ? " Alexis asked, leaning over Seth looking in the rearview mirror as well.

" We'll have to deal with them on the dirt road, this thing doesn't seem to go any faster than this. " Seth said leaning out the window, he took a few shots at the jeeps following them.

Indy neared the dirt road that veered off to the right into a wooded area outside the city.

Coming up the main road towards them were several T-55 Russian Tanks, Indy had the petal to the floor to try and reach the dirt road before them.

One of the tanks fired from the main cannon sending a puff of smoke from the lip of the barrell, Indy turned the truck just in time on the dirt road, skidding the back end and slamming the sides of the truck off the wall of a high ditch sending dirt flying all over the windshield.

One of the pursuing Jeeps exploded in a ball of fire and smoke from the tank cannon that missed Indy's truck, sending the jeep flying apart in a backflip with metal and tires flying in every direction. Indy slowly brought the truck back up to speed as he glanced in the rearview mirror to see two other jeeps skid onto the dirt road in frantic pursuit of them.

Seth leaned out and took a few shots at them. Several sparks shot off the side of the truck in return, the jeeps were gainging quickly. " I need ammo. " Seth barked out as he sat back down hard.

" I'm out. " Alexis put her gun away in her brown purse. Indy threw his gun Seth's way, it landed in his lap. Seth leaned out the window and took a few more shots at the jeep. Indy looked in his rearview to see some soldiers jump onto his side of the truck as the jeep pulled back, he quickly cut the wheel and rubbed the truck on the side of the high ditch wall, crushing the soldiers and sending them tumbling away like ragdolls.

" I'm out, give me some ammo Indy ! " Seth said sitting down on his seat again, in his rearview mirror, a few soldiers jumped on his side of the truck, the driver of the jeep slowed up to follow the truck.

" I don't have any, " Indy announced, " Ashley, take the wheel. " Indy crawled out the window as Alexis scooted over and took the wheel.

" It's Alexis ! " She called out then ducked as she heard a few close gunshots overhead, Indy fell and grabbed on to the drivers side door, panting.

" Hit the brakes! " Indy roared in desperation. Alexis complied and watched as soldiers tumbled down the front of the truck onto the dirt road, one of the jeeps behind them slammed into the back of the truck sending two soldiers flying into the back, next to the boat.

Alexis slammed on the gas petal and ran over two soldiers sending dust and rocks flying on the smashed jeep's hood behind them. Indy crawled back inside the truck driver side window pushing Alexis aside.

" How much further Seth ? " Indy asked the young blond agent.

" Just a few minutes longer, there should be a ..." He was interrupted by a loud rip in the tarp fabric behind them as a soldier grabbed Indiana in a headlock, he yanked Indy out of his seat and into the back. Seth turned and jumped through the tarp to help, Alexis grabbed the wheel again. " Don't worry, I'll drive! "

Indy hit some hard elbows to the gut of the soldier holding him from behind on the floor, Seth was thrown into the boat from the other soldier. The soldier took out a handgun and jumped into the boat after him, Seth knocked the gun out of his hand sending the gun rattling around the floor of the boat near the driver seat.

* * *

The remaining jeep pulled up close behind the truck, a soldier held on to the shoulder of the driver for balance and heaved a bazooka onto his own shoulder.

Indy rolled over the soldier and they scrambled on the floor next to the crashed boat, he hit the soldier with a few punches then hauled him to his feet, he slammed the soldiers head off of the side of the boat. The soldier retaliated with two hard punches to Indy's face. Indy swung a left that the soldier blocked and was rewarded with another hard left and right combo. Indy staggered back and tripped over a broken piece of the boat on the floor of the truck.

Seth kicked the soldier inside the boat in the face and sent him tumbling next to the driver seat of the boat. The soldier found his gun on the floor and quickly stood up, Seth ran and tackled him, they tumbled out of the boat near the back lip of the truck, Seth leaned back and gave the soldier a monkey flip in the air. The soldier gracefully flew through the open air, screaming all the way, when a rocket hit him from the persuing jeep. He exploded in a ball of flame and guts.

Indy stood up and gave the soldier he was fighting a massive uppercut strike, the soldier snapped his head back and flew inside the boat. Indy crawled into the boat after him. Seth sat up and turned around to look at the jeep behind them, the windshield was covered in blood and guts. He could see the soldier inside the jeep reloading his bazooka.

" Indy , we've got problems! " Seth yelled.

" Ya, ya! " Indy yelled as he wrestled with the soldier inside the boat.

Alexis caught the sight of the bazooka in her rearview mirror. She quickly veered to the right as the soldier fired off the weapon, the rocket exploded on the dirt road sending a large puff of dirt and smoke in the air. She was momentarily stunned and didn't see a large bump half way across the road, stretching from the right ditch. The truck ramped right over the bump and flew through the air for a moment before landing hard, she hit her face on the wheel and tried to remain conscious while she steered the truck.

The boat broke free from the wreckage and started to skid out of the back of the truck, Seth had no choice but to turn and jump on the hood of the persuing jeep. Indy reached down and threw the anchor inside the truck as the boat fell out , the anchor caught the inside of a wooden support. The back part of the boat broke away sending pieces of wood flying off the jeep behind them, their truck was now dragging the boat left and right all over the dirt road.

Seth jumped over the windshield of the jeep and dropkicked the soldier holding the bazooka sending him flying off of the back of the jeep on to the dirt road. The driver turned and gave Seth a nasty elbow to the face as the agent landed in the passenger side.

Indy reached out to crawl up the anchor rope when he was grabbed from behind from the soldier. Indy elbowed him in the face then grabbed him in a headlock, the soldier picked up Indy and they both tumbled back towards the wrecked part of the boat skidding on the dirt road.

Indy grabbed the soldier by the back of the head and slammed his face off of the floor of the boat, he then crawled his way up the boat floor to the anchor rope. The soldier grabbed his boot, but Indy kicked away his hand then kicked him in the face sending him tumbling back down to the wrecked end of the boat.

Seth punched the driver of the jeep in the face then grabbed for the wheel, the driver quickly took out a knife and slashed at Seth's arm, giving him a nasty gash along his forearm.

Seth tried to control the soldiers arm as he pointed the knife right at Seth's neck. The blade came closer and closer to his sweat soaked neck, he quickly leaned back sending the blade cutting into his shoulder, blood splattered on the soldiers hand as he tried to sink the blade into Seth's chest. Seth quickly palm slapped the soldiers ear and locked his arm under the knife arm of the soldier, hyperextending the man's elbow forcing him to drop the knife. Seth quickly picked up the knife and sent it plunging through the soldiers thigh, emitting another scream from the driver. The soldiers leg was pinned to the seat forcing him to floor the gas petal , they sped right up to the wrecked boat dragging behind the truck.

Indy turned and jumped as the jeep smashed into the boat, crushing the soldier who was hanging on for dear life. Indy flew onto the hood as planks and splinters flew all around him. The jeep slammed into the back of the truck then quickly veered to the left making Indy slide right off the blood soaked hood, he quickly took out his whip and snapped it at the dragging achor rope. The whip wrapped around the rope and Indy started to drag on the dirt road, sending up dust all around him.

The jeep slammed off of the high ditch wall then started to veer back towards the dragging Indiana Jones.

" Seth ! " Indy screamed as the jeep got closer and closer.

Seth gaped at Indy with a shocked look then grabbed the wheel, the jeep pulled further away from Indy. The soldier grabbed Seth by the back of the head and slammed his face off of the dashboard. He then grabbed the wheel and jerked it towards the sliding Jones. Seth stopped him by grabbing the wheel.

The jeep was merely inches away from the violently sliding Indiana Jones. He started to crawl his way up the whip, then the rope. Just inches away from the jeep tire. He crawled into the back of the truck and watched Seth fighting with the soldier to gain control of the jeep. Indy took the anchor off the wooden beam then hauled the rope and whip inside the truck, he untied his whip then lifted up the anchor and rope.

The soldier grabbed the knife and yanked it out of his own leg sending a splash of blood on both of their faces. He stabbed Seth right in the same shoulder, the agent let out a yell and fell further away from the driver. Seth leaned forward holding his shoulder, the soldier lifted the knife for a killing blow. Clank ! The anchor smashed the soldier right on the arm sending the knife flying out of the jeep, Seth leaned back and kicked the soldier in the face, the soldier fell back and grabbed to regain balance but he grabbed the door handle, opening the door. The soldier scrambled and turned, he had one hand on the door as it started to half drag him on the dirt path.

Seth kicked the steering wheel sending the jeep slamming into the high ditch wall, crushing the door closed on the soldier, he tumbled away down the road. Seth reached down and pressed the brake.

" Stop the truck ! " Indy yelled to Alexis. The truck slowed down, Indy jumped off of the back and ran down the road to the jeep.

" You alright kid? " Indy panted as he reached the blood covered jeep.

" Nothing a few stitches couldn't fix. " Seth tried to smile through the pain.

" Let's get to that plane before the tanks get here. " Indy gave Seth a smile as he watched Alexis jump out of the truck and run to them.

* * *

End of chapter 4


	5. A meeting with Van Holderman

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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**_Chapter 5 - A meeting with Van Holderman -_**

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A large army truck stopped at the steps of a remade castle deep in the private properties in Budakeszi. Oleg Bazhukov stepped out of the truck, took off his sunglasses and viewed the remade castle. It was a large complex surrounded by trees and small streams dug through the land. Oleg walked up the long steps followed by two of his soldiers carrying concealed sidearms.

A butler answered the door at Oleg's loud knock. The butler stood there for a moment, trying to soak in the scene before him, the large bulky general standing there, flanked by two soldiers.

" I'm here to see Mr. Van Holderman. " Oleg stated loudly, almost barking a command to wake up the butler.

" Indeed. Please come in. " The butler said then ushered the three men inside the huge lobby of the castle.

Oleg soaked in the artestry of the place, with artifacts displayed in glass cases with small lamps to highlight them. He wandered around a bit waiting for Frank to greet them.

" Mr. Bazhukov, " Frank said from the top of the central staircase, " I am honored to be in your presence. " He walked down the stairs, using the lion headed walking stick to balance himself out as he decended. He was wearing a bright red smoking jacket with black slacks. He gave Oleg a wide smile as he walked towards him with an outstretched hand. Oleg shook the older man's hand.

" I need this hand, " Frank said taking his hand back and shaking it, " you're handshake could destroy rocks."

Oleg didn't smile, he just strolled around Frank towards his display cases with his arms crossed behind his back.

" You have an impressive display of artifacts here. " Oleg stated.

" I _am_ an archeologist. " Frank smiled and eyed the soldiers, standing still near the door.

" I spoke to Kolov yesterday. He told me he escorted you to a sight outside Budapest near the mountains. He also told me you have aquired an interesting artifact there. "

" The Ica Stone, " Franks face lit up with excitement, " I've been examining it ever since I acquired it. Please, come with me and I'll show you ! " Frank walked back up the stairs with Oleg following. He led them into a side room with a single table in the dead center of it, the surrounding cabinates had small digging tools and magnifying glasses thrown about.

On the table sat the oddly shaped, black Ica Stone.

Oleg was immediately turned off by the sight of it. _This is it ? What is so special about this rock that has this man so excited. _

Frank held a magnifying glass up to the side of the rock and started talking.

" See these markings here. These depict the armies that Macedonia has defeated. These symbols represent each army, it's like keeping score in a way. " Frank moved up the stone with his magnifying glass. " I dated this stone back to three hundred and eighty BC, a bit dissappointing considering what my expectations of the Ica Stone were. The rock itself is mostly volcanic, with bits of marble here and there. "

" This holds great value to you? " Oleg asked looking closely at the stone.

" Yes. This is an important part of history. But it's only a one part of a puzzle. There is symbols and clues on the other side of the rock that I don't understand. Like this warrior holding something up to the sun here. A picture of a circle with a worn out word in the dead center of it. Plus I'm not sure what these triangle jewels on both ends of it represent. All these things are very interesting for sure. " Frank gave Oleg one of his bright smiles.

" But there's more. " Oleg said giving Frank an impatient stare.

" Yes, according to legend, the Ica Stone was transported to Peru, then to here in Budapest somewhere. Why would somebody go through all the trouble of protecting a piece of volcanic rock ? I believe this rock will lead me to this..." Frank turned over the stone revealing a detailed carving of a cross with a large hole through the middle of it.

" What is that? "

" That, " Frank said proudly, " is the Golden Cross of Zampur'. You see, the Army of Macedonia is considered to be the greatest military forces of the ancient world. Historians believe that under the rule of King Phillip II and then later on his son Alexander the Great, their army became a formidable force in a remarkably short time due to unconvenional tactics, advanced weaponry and group attacks. This may be true, but there are some who believe otherwise. You see, during the invasion of Persia, the name Zampur' comes up quite often. Many archeologists and historians thought Zampur' was the name of a base or city. Not true, King Phillip II regarded his massive front devisions as the Zampur'. The name Zampur' is the name of his main army, the head general wore a golden cross. The cross was said to be blessed by the god named Zeus, making any force weilding it invincable. "

" Invincable. "

" Yes, the army of King Phillip II, the Zampur' had no losses during the invasion of Persia. No losses. That is an impossible feat. But not with the Golden Cross. " Frank turned the stone over to look at a different carving.

" So where is the Golden Cross now ? " Oleg said watching Frank examine the stone.

" I'm hoping this stone will tell me. Where the Cross ended up after the invasion is a mystery. No maps with a big red x here I'm afraid. "

" Well, " Oleg finally smiled, " I'm sure we'll find it. "

"_ We'll _? " Frank looked up from the stone.

" Yes, Mr. Van Holderman. I am going to help you find the Golden Cross of Zampur'. If I present Joseph Stalin with the Golden Cross, he'll reward us beyond what you could imagine. You'd have unlimitted access to every piece of land behind the iron curtain. I know how much trouble you've been having with digs here. " Oleg paced around the table in excitement.

" Unlimitted access? That's incredible. But as you know Mr. Bazhukov, I'm a rich man. I could easily pay any local authorities to gain access to these dig sights I'm being denied from. I've just tried to avoid these payoffs. It can get extremely expensive. " Frank leaned on his walking stick and watched Oleg pace.

" You know, my first plan was to just kill you and take the stone. Dispite what kind of friendship you have with us. But now I see that would have been a terrible mistake. You are above and beyond the average expert, especially our own experts. We don't even know half of what artifacts are in our vaults. "

" I've heard of your vaults. A treasure trove for an archeologist, hidden from allied forces during the fall of Hitler. " Frank practically drooled over the prospect of examining the vaults.

" With the Golden Cross of Zampur', Stalin would give you access to the vaults. Who knows, he might even let you walk away with half of the contents. " Oleg smiled for the second time.

" Well, " Frank smiled wide. " I look forward to working with the Russians. "

* * *

End of chapter 5


	6. The Dean of Marshall College

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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**Chapter 6 - Dean of Marshall College - **

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**Marshall College - Two Days later - **

**A **knock on the Dean of Marshall College's office door brought Marcus Brody's head up from a form in front of him on the desk. He had asked his secretary to be left alone while he documented stacks of files.

" Come in. "

" Working on a new book ? " Indy smiled as he entered the office. He had his suit on presumably ready to get back to work teaching his students, but he still had a few weeks off.

The dean's face lit up at the sight of his friend, " Indy ! How was your trip ? "

" Ah, just the same old stuff. Got my boss killed, ran into one of dad's old rivals, got kidnapped by the Russians, got rescued by spies, now here I am. " Indy took a seat in front of the large oak desk.

" You ran into one of Henry's rivals? Who ? What was his name? " Marcus seemed concerned.

" Frank Van Holderman. "

" _That _old snake, we went to school with him you know. " Marcus said with distain.

" He seemed overly interested in an old rock I found, forced me to hand it over. He said it was the original Ica Stone. "

"_ The _Ica Stone, there are supposed to be thousands of them. It's impossible to say what is the original stone. Only a handfull of them have been found, those who have found them aren't sharing them with the public. What did it look like ? " Marcus reached into his drawer and placed a sheet of paper and pencil in front of Indy.

" Well, " Indy said as he started the outline, " it was mostly black, volcanic and some polished cobalt, I think. It had engravings all over it, some of them really, really small. I didn't have alot of time to examine it though. There were purple triangle gems on both ends. It was guarded by this wall made of..." Indy stopped when Marcus stood up and ran out of the room excited, " masks. "

He waited for a few minutes wondering what came over the old man. Marcus busted into the office panting, then slammed a huge black book on the desk in front of him. He started to quickly thumb through the book until he found the page he was looking for. He spun the book around to show Indy.

" The key to Sashmeal Kaan. " Marcus said in a shaky, low voice.

Indy looked at the old drawing on the yellowing pages, the drawing of the rock he had found displayed at the top of the page, with the rest of the page filled with information.

" This is no Ica Stone Indiana, this is the key ! The key to a terrible, terrible artifact. But nobody knows where the temple of Sashmeal Kaan is. " Marcus was moving his hands quickly as he spoke.

" Wait, " Indy held up his hands, " you don't mean, the resting place of the Hand of Zeus, the ..."

" Yes, yes! More commonly known as the Golden Cross of Zampur'. No doubt Frank Van Holderman is hot on the trail of it now. We have to stop him ! " Marcus quickly took the book and jogged out of the office with it.

He returned with the book still in his hand, he looked at it puzzled, then ran out of the office again. He returned empty handed a few minutes later.

" Wait, wait just a second Marcus! Calm down a second and sit down. " Indy pointed to the dean's plush office chair. Marcus took a deep breath and sat down.

" What is so special, or terrible about this golden cross ? " Indy asked.

Marcus slowly sat down then started talking. " In three hundred and fifty nine BC, Phillip II took over the throne of Macedonia, but the former King Perdiccas III had left the state of the army and the entire country in shambles, it's very neigbors were ready to snuff them out of existance. The twenty one year old Phillip II was a tremendous politician and held off battle with its neighbors securing his country for the time being. But only in a very, very short time, he suddenly had a fighting force, an unstoppable fighting force. The tactics and brilliant manuevering of his army were unheard of at the time, but that wasn't all. One of his men or generals had discovered The Golden Cross in a dungeon somewhere, the details are very sketchy on this part of history, but Phillip's general believed strongly that the Golden Cross was a gift from the gods themselves, others say it was Zeus, no matter. They used this artifact to destroy armies in their path, some historians believe that everytime the Zampur' Army charged into battle, the enemy was already dispirited, or extremely sick and dying of disease. They simply cut and sliced their way through walking dead warriors. Some say the Cross gave the army a wave of invincability, but this is an unpopular view. I've always believed that they had used the artifact as a way of rumor and intimidation tactics. The name Sashmeal Kaan comes up quite often when referred to the resting place of the Golden Cross of Zampur', but nobody knows where that is. "

" We'll need that stone then. " Indy said thinking hard.

" Frank will no doubt be trying to find out the orgin of the volcanic properties of the rock itself, he'll be heading to Greece. " Marcus said standing up.

" Do you know any of his contacts in Greece? " Indy smiled at the gears turning in Brody's eyes.

" If I'm not mistaken. " Marcus Brody turned and went through some books on the shelf behind him. He started mumbling to himself for awhile.

A knock on his office door broke the spell Marcus was in. He straightened his suit then announced for the newcomer to enter.

" Mr. Brody, " His secretary opened the door, " you have visitors at the front door. They insisted on talking to you. " She gave Indiana a flirtatious smile.

" I'll be right there. "

* * *

Marcus and Indy walked through the halls to the front entrance to Marshall Collage, there were two men dressed in dark blue suits and sunglasses waiting there.

" Marcus Brody, " The closest of the two spoke first, both of them flashing government badges, " I'm Agent Christian Argile of the United States Special Forces Division, this is my partner, Willaim Balkeman. " A group of collage kids roared in laughter close by on the lawn.

" Could we speak somewhere a little more private ?"

" Of course. By the way, this is my friend, Indiana Jones. " Marcus said, ushering the agents inside the buidling.

" He's the one we've been looking for. " Christian said as they walked towards the Dean's office.

Marcus sat back down behind his desk, Indy took his chair in front. The agents both sat down on the leather couch.

" We are in a transitional phaze here in our department. We'll soon be regarded as the C.I.A, Central Intelligence Agency. We had an agent go missing in Budapest a little while ago. She was studying troop movements when she missed her exit point and was captured. "

" Alexis. " Indy said.

" Correct. We don't usually acknowledge we even _have_ an agent working out of country, especially when one of them is captured. It could fuel the fire for an international incedent and be the starting steps for an invasion of America. We sent an agent to recover Alexis and Palto. He was successful in recovering Alexis from prison. "

" Seth, " Indy's brow creased, " but who's Palto? "

" Palto Fargusson is our top agent in the field. He was to track every movement of Oleg Buzhukov, Stalin's number one man. A very dangerous assignment, unfortunately Palto is in way too deep now to be extracted, according to Seth. Unbelievably enough, Palto has managed to disguise himself as one of Oleg's escort guards. We recieved a telegram from Paltro yesterday that disturbed us a great deal. Its decoded so you can read it." Christian opened the front of his jacket and retreaved a manilla envelope, he untied the front then gave Indy the contents.

Indy read the telegram out loud.

_**July 15th 1947 - Every phone in Budapest is bugged, or in the process. - **_

**Oleg Bazhukov's movements have been eratic in the last couple of days. One day he'll be observing his men in formation outside the base in Budapest, the next he'll be locked up in a room, studying maps for hours. - STOP - **

**Today, on the 15th of July, Oleg has done something odd. We drove way out to a secluded Castle in Budakeszi. There we met with a man named Frank Van Holderman, an archeologist. We waited at the front door for Oleg to return from upstairs. - STOP - **

**Oleg seems excited by the whole ordeal, he's making travel plans OUTSIDE Hungary with Frank Van Holderman. Why would a powerful Russian general like Oleg be interested in mere archeology with this rich guy from Chicago? - STOP - **

**Oleg was really, really upset with his men today over the escape of a prisoner from the base in Budapest. A woman prisoner, could it be Alexis ? I hope she didn't do anything foolish like get caught. Damn rookies. - STOP - **

**Oleg and Frank have made arrangements to travel to Greece. They keep mentioning an Indiana Jones and their wishes to kill him. Who is Indiana Jones ? Oleg said that Joseph Stalin HIMSELF wants to strangle this man. Is he one of us ? **

**- STOP - **

**I had to mush grapes into a fellow guard's soup today. He was becoming a little too suspicious of me, I think. The guy is deathly allergic to them. There might not be a way for me to escape this situation, but I'm riding it out to it's conclusion. - STOP- **

**This will be my final communication with you. It was risky enough just sending this telegram - STOP - **

**Paltro - **

**

* * *

**

" You made some friends over there I see. " Marcus smiled at Indy.

" Indiana Jones, we need your help in stopping Oleg and Frank, whatever their plans may be. " Christian and Willaim stood up from the leather couch.

" Wait a second ! You have an army of secret agents you could use to go and deal with these guys. " Indiana stood from his chair, hot in the face.

" Try and remember that we are in a transitional phaze Mr. Jones. We can't spare any more men. Plus, when we recieved the full report from Alexis and Seth, " The agent gave Indy a cool smile, " we were really impressed. "

" How is Seth doing? He was pretty uncomfortable on the ride back. "

" He'll be fine. Who knows, you might even bump into them in your travels. "

" This _mission_ is gonna take us halfway around the world, possibly twice. We'll need to be well compensated. " Indy gave Marcus a nod.

" That won't be a problem. You'll have everything you'll need Indiana Jones. "

" I'm taking Marcus Brody with me. "

" You shouldn't, risking another life is unnecessary. Especially if Mr. Brody could jeopordize the mission. "

" Marcus Brody has been through more hell than Hades himself. Besides, he's an expert in Greek mythology, I'll need him on this one. So you'll have to compensate the mission to fill both our needs. "

" If that's what you want then fine. But remember one thing, this conversation never happened, we were never here. "

" I understand. " Indy said as the agents left the office.

" How about that for some luck Marcus. " Indy said, smiling to his friend.

" Nothing happens by chance, my friend...No such thing as luck. A meaning behind every little thing, and such a meaning behind this. Part for you, part for me, may not see it all real clear right now, but we will, before long." Marcus slapped his hand on the top of his desk then spun around with a smile on his face.

" I'm starting to think you really did get lost in your own museum."

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End of chapter 6


	7. Staggered footsteps

**Indiana Jones and Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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**Chapter 7 - Staggered footsteps - **

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**Methana - Greece **

**I**n a small peninsula in the Peloponnese of southern Greece sat the city of Methana, at the bottom of a rocky cliff, with a volcano on the other side of the city. The people of Methana were milling back and forth, merchants moving stock around, kids playing in the streets with dogs barking in the alleys.

Out in the peninsula, a guide boat with a white, rounded tarp on top of it, puttered along towards the city. Frank and Oleg sat at the back of the boat, with four Russian guards sitting in the middle seats, dressed in dark tanned clothing.

Frank had a glass of brandy in his hand, unconsciously balancing it as he leaned back and took in the fantastic view of Methana from his seat. He had what he called his _adventure_ _gear_ on, with a long black cape, white silky shirt and black pants. Oleg sat next to him in similar clothing as his guards. He had his large arms crossed as he sat there stone faced.

" I have a personal guide in Methana that will take us up to the volcano. He's an expert that will tell me where this stone was made. I hope it was made here, if that is the case then we'll be off to a hot start. "

Oleg continued to sit still, unresponsive. Only the soft splashes of water on the boats hull along with the puttering of the engine could be heard.

" You know, Oleg, " Frank finished his brandy then turned to his new partner, " if we are going to be travelling together, you have to at least humor me with conversation. "

Oleg slowly turned to face Frank, he gave the older man a steel gaze that screamed murder.

" Perhaps conversation is not your strong point. " Frank muttered as Oleg turned to look straight again. He poured another glass of brandy and enjoyed the view of Methana once more.

* * *

**Athens - Greece **

" You're sure this contact will know his whereabouts ? " Indy asked as they drove through the historical city in a cab.

" He knows just about everything and everybody. The only problem is his temper. Perhaps ..." Marcus stuttered then chewed on his thumb. The scene flashing and rewinding inside his brain, the possible bad outcome.

" Perhaps what Marcus. " Indy eyed the driver to make sure he wasn't staring at them too much.

Marcus stared out his side window as they passed the large open air ampitheatre known as the Theater of Dionysus, a place that could hold seventeen thousand people. They were almost at the small bar where his contact usually hung around.

" Indy, " Marcus sighed heavyily , " I don't want to be rude but, you have a bad track record in bars. We can't get under this man's skin. You have to be careful of what you say. I think you should sit this one out. "

" What ? Me ? " Indy pointed to himself with a shocked, mocking expression.

" It would be better this way. "

" Listen Marcus, just let me sit in the bar. I won't go with you when you talk to this guy. I just want to keep an eye on you. Just in case. "

" I suppose that would be alright. Well, here we are. " Marcus paid the driver then they exitted the cab in front of a small, white rocked building with a wooden sign marked Krosos in Greek.

" I'll go in first, " Marcus said, putting on a small, white bowler hat.

" I'd beat you up just for wearing that hat. " Indy said walking down the street.

" It's alot better than that weathered fedora. " Marcus muttered to himself as he entered the dark, local bar Krosos.

There were fifteen people in the bar total, most of them sat at the tables arranged around a small fountain set up in the middle of the floor. The dark cast wooden bar dominated the far wall, with liquor displayed behind. One old man sat at the bar, but it wasn't his contact. Marcus approched the bar and ordered a drink. He leaned on the bar and scanned the crowd of locals sitting at the tables. He watched Indiana walk in the bar and sit alone at the dark corner of the room. A table rarely used. Soft chatter and the occasional laugh, Marcus liked the atmosphere of the place, he could picture himself coming here often if he had lived here.

Marcus retreaved his drink and took a sip. He wiped his mouth and turned to the bartender.

" Have you seen Jermain today? "

" He doesn't come in here until about four. In an hour. " The bartender responded in Greek to Marcus's english question. Marcus nodded then sat on the stool.

Indy ordered a bottle of whiskey then sat at his table in the corner. He watched Marcus sitting there alone. _I hope we're not wasting time here._

_

* * *

_

Two hours later a tall man wearing a long, white turban walked into the bar. Indy was nearly through his bottle of whiskey. But Marcus was in a little worse shape, he was stinking drunk sitting at the bar.

Jermain sat at the bar a few stools away from Marcus, he ordered a drink then crossed his arms on the bartop, folding his long white sleeves up. Marcus was sweating and slightly dizzy. _Old fool, you've gone and got yourself wasted before he even GOT here. Damn ! _He stood up, but too quickly, he staggered to one side but stopped his fall with a hand on the side of the fountain. His bowler hat fell off his head into the fountain water, he grabbed it and put it back on his head.

Indy covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. _This could turn really bad, but it's so funny to watch right now. _Indy felt down to his side to make sure he was still armed with his revolver, he did this often when he drank.

" Kind Jermain. " Marcus announced as he sat next to the taller, robed man. The man turned to regard Marcus and stroked his thick beard in confusion. Marcus sat there red faced with a big damp ring on the top of his white bowler hat.

" Marcus Brody ? " Jermain's face lit up a bit.

" In the fresh ! Flesh ! How'r you been doing my friend ? " Marcus was having trouble holding his head in one position.

" I am fine, but you seem a little drunk. " Jermain smiled.

" Bah! Drunkeness is only a sober mans alternate reality. " Marcus pointed to the fountain.

" What can I do for you ? " Jermain lifted a hand for another drink.

" I'm looking for the poth...the possible origins of this. " Marcus took out Indy's drawing of the stone and passed it to Jermain.

" The key to Sashmeal Kaan. Some say it was made right here in Athens. Nobody knows the resting place of it though, but I believe it originated in the volcanic area of Methana. It was made there, perhaps the key is still there. "

" Methana, thank you ! " Marcus took the drawing back then staggered back to his stool.

Jermain's face turned a shade of red as he stood up, clearly angered.

Indy stood up. _Uh-oh. _

Jermain grabbed Marcus off of his stool and held him off of his feet by the scruff of his jacket.

" Usually when one man helps the other, the man is compensated for it. " Jermain's teeth were clenched as he growled in Marcus's face.

" Yes, yes! I can pay you. I forgot ! " Marcus sputtered.

" Hey, towel guy. Drop the old man. " Indy was surprised at how drunk he himself had become as he swayed a little.

" Indy, get out! I have the situation under control ! " Marcus sputtered as he hung from the hands of the larger man.

" Ya, looks it. "

" You have a spy here ? Do you think I don't have my OWN men here ? "

Indy gulped and did a slow turn.

All fifteen patrons of the bar stood up from their tables, now with machine guns in hand.

* * *

End of chapter 7


	8. Pirates and boat rentals

**Indiana Jones and The Golden Cross of Zampur' **

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8 - Pirates and boat rentals - **

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_**New Disclaimer that should be in chapter one - **__Any other characters other than in the Indiana Jones universe were created by this author and in no way are intentionally copied from other fics, if there are REAL people with the same name it is purely unintentional. _

_

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_

**J**ermain threw Marcus like a rag doll onto one of the bar's wooden chairs, he landed hard and the chair tipped back, he seemed to balance there for a moment before falling forward with a loud crack on the floor. Two of his men rough housed Indy to a chair directly next to Marcus.

" You might remember me as a merely a trouble maker two years ago , Mr. Brody. " Jermain spat out his name like a curse word.

Marcus shook his head pathetically with a sweat soaked, red face.

" Just last year, my house in Athens was attacked by a gang of thieves known as _The_ _Pirates of Nicholas. _They looted my entire home, killed my wife. Left me with nothing. You may recognise the face masks. " Jermain nodded to his men.

All fifteen men grabbed a scarf like material and wrapped it over their mouths. Every one of them had a pattern of a red eyed tiger on the front.

" I went into a rage like man has never witnessed in the history of the planet Earth, could you imagine my reaction coming home to that ? " Jermain shook for a moment as he seemingly had a quick flashback.

" I sought out and killed the leader. Not realising I had just strong armed control over one of the most feared gangs in Greece. Let me say that The Pirates of Nicholas has been way more profitable than any other endeavour I have ever done in my life. "

" Nice Marcus, " Indy spat out, " your first contact is the most dangerous man in Greece. "

Jermain viciously backhanded Indy across the face sending his hat flying off onto the floor behind him.

" Never speak when I'm not done speaking. " Jermain's voice was quivering with anger.

" How was I to know that..." Marcus was interrupted by Jermain grabbing his white bowlers hat and ripping it down over his head, he tightened his grip on the hat and started to strangle Marcus.

" Hey ! " Indy protested but was backhanded with Jermain's free hand.

" You _idiots_ don't understand English ? " Jermain screamed as he watched Marcus turn a deep shade of red.

He soon let go when Marcus started to pass out, he stroked his thick beard contemplating killing them both.

" You two will find Sashmeal Kaan for me. Then I might let you return to the United States alive. "

" Lookin' forward to it. " Indy sneered at Jermain.

Jermain reached back and punched Indiana Jones so hard he flew off of the chair onto the floor.

Indiana Jones and Marcus Brody staggered out of the bar into the darkness of night. Marcus was clearly drunk as he had to hold on to the side of the building to stay standing, looking pathetic as his white bowler was still wrapped around his neck. Indy stood swaying in front of Marcus, holding his cheek, he couldn't tell if it was the liquor that had him woozy or the forceful punch he received from Jermain.

" Looks like we'll have the eyes of The Pirates of Nicholas on us now. " Indy said annoyed as he picked up his fedora off of the ground.

" It's pronounced NEE-Ko-Las, it means_ the protectors of man_. "

" Marcus, I don't care HOW its pronounced or what the hell it means. We don't need this problem. Dammit all Marcus! Why'd you have to use that guy for a contact? "

" He _did_ help us out. I didn't know he..." Marcus took a breath, " that he joined the worst gang in Greece. But we don't have to to worry, hey ! Look what happened to my hat! "

Indy saw the look of confused sorrow on the face of the old man, he grabbed Marcus by the sleeve and walked with him down the street towards their hotel.

" We just need a good nights sleep, " Indy pulled the white bowler hat off of Marcus's head and threw it in a nearby alley, " I told you that hat was terrible. "

Tomorrow was going to be a long, long day.

* * *

_**Next Day **_

" Like I said sir, " The old harbormaster said annoyed, " there are no available boats left here. "

Indiana and Marcus stood inside the poorly constructed, wooden office. It had a small counter with the old harbormaster sitting behind it, with a register and a bowl of peanuts.

" What's wrong with THAT boat ? " Indy barked, pointing out the window to a small, red fishing vessel.

" That's _my_ boat sir. It is not used for customer travel. "

" What? " Indy threw his arms in the air.

" Indy, " Marcus touched his arm, " we can find another way. There must be another port we can rent a boat in. "

" Sir, this is the busiest day we have ever had. All of our boats have been rented, but when I talked to Sutheed in Salamina, he told me that _THEIR _boats have all been rented as well."

" Then we'll just have to fly. " Indy said, turning to leave.

Outside the office they stood on the badly worn dock, the waves lapping underneath on the shore. Seagulls screamed seemingly from all directions, fighting over scraps.

" I've just realised something Indy. " Marcus said rubbing his chin.

" What ? "

" What do you think will happen when we go and rent a plane ? "

" We'll fly to Methana. "

" I don't think so, Indy. "

" Why ? "

Marcus took a few steps to the edge of the dock, he looked down at his reflection in the water, lost his balance for a split second, then answered his friend. " Because I think Frank Van Holderman has made it impossible for any _Americans _to leave this area."

Indy turned to his friend, slack jawed, " Are you telling me he simply _bought_ out everyone on his way here? "

" He has the money, and it makes sense. NO boats available in a span of fifty mile radius. I bet there_ is _boats, just not for us." Marcus kicked a small splinter of wood into the water and watched it float around then disappear under the dock.

" I see a boat. " Indy muttered.

The harbormaster sat behind his counter reading a book. He made a face, scratched his back then leaned back on his chair, kicking his feet up on the counter. He could hear the feint noise of an engine. The engine puttered then started to sound distant to him.

" Wait a second. " He said out loud in Greek, he jumped up from his chair and ran to the window. His boat was already fifty yards away in the water. He ran around the counter and kicked open his front door.

Indy turned from steering the little red fishing boat, he could see the old man jumping up and down on the dock, mouthing screams. He smiled then nodded in the old man's direction to Marcus.

" Poor chap seems a bit upset! " Marcus yelled over the loud puttering of the engine.

* * *

**End of chapter. **


	9. The new player

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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Chapter 9 - The new player -

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**A** deep red Plymouth with a black fabric top pulled into the Marshall collage visitors parking lot. The door opened and a stylish black loafer stepped down on the pavement, travelling up the loafer were pressed, brown dress pants, with a matching colored jacket with a checkered pattern. The man walked towards the collage with a white paper bag tucked under his arm. He could hear students laughing and gossiping in the park next to the parking lot on the school grounds. He smiled as it reminded him of his days in collage.

He walked slowly down the long hall towards the Dean's office, admiring older class pictures along the way. He knocked on the office door marked - _Dean's Office _-_Marcus Brody _in gold lettering.

" Marcus ? " The man said, opening the office door. But Marcus wasn't sitting in his usual spot behind the desk, it was the Vice Dean, Howard Lassbalk. A man in his late forties with a chubby face and body.

" Can I help you ? " The Vice Dean asked, surprised and a little annoyed to be intruded in this fashion.

" I'm sorry, my name is Henry Jones Sr. I was hoping Marcus Brody was here. " Henry wore a dark brown hat almost in the shape of a fisherman's hat, he had his rounded spectacles on, his beard was almost completely white now, with only tiny hints of dark gray splashed along his sideburns.

" Marcus was called away to a meeting, very sorry. " The Vice Dean said in a rush fashion, hoping the older gentleman would leave.

" Could you tell me where this meeting is taking place ? " Henry pressed.

" I don't have that information here sir, perhaps you could ask Helen, she's just out the door to the right. " Howard said and motioned his hand to Henry in which direction he should go.

" Thank-you. " Henry said then closed the door. He walked around to the right of the office to a another smaller version of the Dean's Office.

" Excuse me. " Henry said knocking on the door as he entered.

" Oh, hello sir ! " Helen sang as she looked up from a book, " how can I help you?"

_Much better manners_.

" My name is Henry Jones, I'm looking for Marcus Brody, the Vice Dean told me he was in a meeting. Could you tell me where this meeting is taking place ? "

_She's hesitating, very odd. _

" He went away to Japan for a large shop tour of the collages there with the board of directors. " She sang with a straight look in her eyes.

" Could you do me a favor Helen ? " Henry asked with a lopsided grin.

" Anything Mr. Jones, just ask. "

" Could you cut the crap and tell me where Marcus Brody is ? The board of directors don't have the budget to travel to Japan just to tour collages that have a different criteria than American collages, besides, Marcus is allergic to Japan. He stated he'd never travel there again for the rest of his life. He once ate a ...... "

" I'm sorry to interrupt you Mr. Jones. But the truth is, he gave us detailed instructions to keep his travel plans a secret. Even from close friends and family. So unless you have an idea to where he may have travelled, I can't help you. " She gave Henry the worst fake smile he had ever seen.

Henry just frowned, put his hand on his chin and was lost in thought. He stood there for awhile in the same position. Helen cleared her throat.

" I'm sorry to disturb you. " Henry tipped his hat then left the side office.

_What in the world is that old man up to now ? I should ask the Vice Dean if he knows where Junior is. No, I better not. I better check Junior's office to see if I can find out anything. The only problem is, his office will be locked. _

Henry walked down the hall and came to a halt next to Indiana's small office at the corner of a small lobby. He put his hand up to the office window, but the glass was too cloudy to see anything clearly inside. He walked back outside and got inside his car, he turned on the engine and cruised out of the parking lot.

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The deep red Plymouth pulled to a stop in front of Marcus Brody's cozy bungalow on a quiet street. Henry got out of the car and walked to the heavy, dark stained, oak door with a fancy lion headed knocker on the front.

Henry grabbed the knocker and rapped the metal on metal several times. He continued and got what he expected, nothing. He walked back to his car becoming worried.

_Why would he instruct his secretary and Vice Dean to withhold information on his whereabouts? _

_Perhaps he's in trouble with the U.S government somehow and Junior is helping him, bah! That wouldn't be the case. Or he's in big trouble with a mobster. Considering what kind of trouble Junior usually ends up in, that would seem more likely._

He placed his fists on his hips and looked back at the house. He leaned back and looked down the street. _ Not very much traffic_. He looked the other way with the same results.

He quickly walked towards the house and walked around the side, pushing away branches that clawed at his face. He lifted the window facing into the dining room, after doing another quick look around, he climbed into the dining room then closed the window.

He walked into the living room and started to search around the room for any clues to his whereabouts. He emptied a side table drawer next to the couch, nothing but bills and loose change. He checked through the bedroom next. Looking through dresser drawers and inside the closet. Still with no results.

_This is ridiculous, maybe he knew I was coming to surprise him with Yankee tickets and didn't want to go. If that's the case then he's going through an awful lot to avoid me. _Henry allowed himself to smile for a moment. _Not likely. _

He walked into the kitchen and spotted the corner of a white paper in a bowl on top of the refrigerator. He grabbed the small scrap of paper and unfolded it on the kitchen table.

_Such terrible penmanship Marcus. _

**Tickets arranged for Athens. Call Helen, let her know about it, reschedule soccer practice for team - Let Helen know of rules - Remind Indy to pack an extra set of shirts- Pick up flashlights, extra pouches - brushes- **

**Buy white bowler hat seen at the mall - **

_He didn't. _

**Remind Indy to pack his gun - Drop of five dollars to Ned - Send cat to Sisters place - Confirm hotel stay in Athens with agent Christian - Call contact Jermain - confirm contact is still in area when you arrive - DON'T LET INDY TALK TO CONTACT - **

_I wonder why ? He circled this at least six times. _

**Bring Indy's detailed drawing of the Ica Stone - Bring Golden Cross reference book - buy larger suitcase - **

**Frank Van Holderman - Frank Van Holderman - Frank Van Holderman-----**

_What in the world is Frank's name doing here ? Maybe they are working along with that demon. They way he wrote it suggests not. Maybe Frank found Sashmeal Kaan ! Legend says that's where the Golden Cross is resting. But that's about all I know about it, Marcus is the Greek mythology expert. The Ica Stone part doesn't make any sense, what in the world is an Ica Stone ? Could he mean The Humanity Stone ? _

Henry turned the crumpled paper over and looked at the back of the sheet.

**There you sit on the thunder clouds - **

**Playing with your lighting in your city sized hands - **

**You are hiding something in your left hand- **

**You won't show anyone what it is - **

**The cloud is split into two bull shaped mounds - **

**You peer down on one who is worthy - **

**There is none - **

**You are the king of gods - **

**Ruler of all - **

**Slave to none - **

**We are all but mere droplets of water in your turbulent sea - **

**You are the bringer of life -**

**The specter of death - **

**The air we breath - **

**The soil we lay - **

**You are Zeus - **

_Marcus is clearly disturbed about something, that is clear. Maybe there's something to this relic that's catastrophic in nature. I can't stand around here guessing. _

Henry jammed the scrap of paper in his pocket and walked out of the kitchen.

_It's time to book a flight to Athens. _

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_End of chapter 9 _


	10. Buggers

**Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' **

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**Chapter 10 - Buggers - **

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**Methana **

**S**everal miles from the main city, in amidst the rocky hills and cliffs of the region, Indy and Marcus rested near a steep bank of one of the hills. They were in a perfect spot to view the activity a hundred feet away. Indy viewed the dig through his binoculars. There were guards posted along the perimeter of the dig, with several locals spiking away at the center. Dark brown horses were scattered along the sloping hills, tied to spiked in poles. Off to the side sat Frank Van Holderman in a lawn chair with a black umbrella attached to the back of it. He seemed to be relaxed, drinking from a martini glass. Oleg was a few yards away, barking orders at the locals to dig faster. Past a large rock jutting out of the ground sat several trunks and bags. One soldier stood next to these items looking bored.

" There, " Indy said putting down the binoculars. " One soldier guarding Frank's belongings. No doubt the stone is in there somewhere. "

" Are you suggesting we waltz right up there and take the stone? " Marcus asked with a troubled expression.

" Not _we_, me. You stay here and keep an eye on the other soldiers. That one guarding the stone is out of sight range of the others behind that rock. I can handle him no problem. Anything looks wrong, make a noise or something and jump on that horse and get outta here. " The horse shook its mane to get rid of the buzzing insects, seemingly responding to Indy's idea.

Marcus shook his head and reached down and pulled out his jug of water. He took a satisfying drink then replaced the jug. He wiped his sweat soaked forehead then turned to Indy, but the younger man wasn't there anymore. He was climbing down the steep bank on his way to his target.

" I don't like this idea. " Marcus said to himself. Wanting to tell his friend, but the distance was too great now not to attract attention.

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" You really should relax Oleg. " Frank said, holding up his drink with one hand and resting his book on his lap.

Oleg continued to bark orders at the diggers, blatantly ignoring Frank. The big Russian then walked over to one of his soldiers and started yelling at him to move into a different position.

" Oleg, my friend! " Frank waved the man over.

The general reluctantly walked over to Frank and stood directly in front of him.

" Please, you have to sit down for a minute. You're going to pass out from stress. "

" Listen, Van Holderman. I am not your _friend. _You are working for _me_. Now sit there and shut-up until you have something useful to share with me, until then, don't talk to me. "

" But I _do_ have something useful to share with you. This very sight we are sitting over. There should be an ancient temple under this rock and soil. We might even find the Sashmeal Kaan temple here. It's all very exciting. "

Oleg made a guttural noise then walked away.

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Indy crept up to the lone soldier guarding the luggage, he crawled on his hands and knees silently behind a row of bushes. The soldier lit up a cigarette then sat on the leather chest. He took his boot off then rubbed his foot. Indy crawled right to the end of the row of bushes, just another ten feet of open space to the lone soldier left. He stayed on his belly watching every movement. He waiting until the soldier turned a little more away from him then he stood on his feet and did a silent crouch jog towards the soldier. He clubbed the soldier in the back of the neck with a forearm and caught him before he fell to the ground, avoiding a large rustle noise. The diggers were making enough noise with their pick axes, but he wasn't taking any chances. He hauled the soldier as close to the large jutting rock as he could get. He then started to rummage through the luggage.

" WHAT ARE YOU DOING ?! " Oleg screamed, freezing Indy in his tracks.

" YOU KEEP PULVERIZING THE STONES DUG UP !! SWEEP THOSE STONES OUT FIRST !!! THEN DIG !! "

Indy took a deep breath then continued to rummage through the bags. He stopped when he found a leather pouch, with one item inside. He reached in and pulled out the black volcanic stone with the purple triangle jewels on both ends. _ The Ica Stone. _Indy smiled to himself then replaced the leather bag where he found it, he stored the stone in his tan pouch then started to make his way back to the row of bushes.

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Marcus watched the events unfold with his binoculars. Holding his breath as Indiana knocked out the soldier. He then watched Oleg carefully, the big man was really on the diggers case now. Sweeping back to Indy, he saw him going through the luggage. _Hurry up, before they decide to rotate the soldiers. _He saw Indy grabbing something dark out of the bag and stare at it for a moment. _ He found it. Now come on back, please don't get caught. _He watched Indy crouch down and make his way back to the bushes, he swept the binoculars to watch Oleg, the big man kicked a digger down on his belly and pulled out a handgun, he threatened to kill the man. _ Good enough distraction to get away, _he swept the binoculars to Indy's position again, but he wasn't there anymore. Just a small puff of dust swept through the air where he had been. _ What in the world ? What happened ? Where IS he ?! _

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The small patch of soil gave away as Indy tumbled into the ground, dragging down soil all around him and kicking up dust. He landed hard on his side and it took his breath away. He took a minute to gather his senses as he looked up at the small hole he made on the surface, the blue sky in the background. He sat up, gathered his hat and rummaged through his tan pack on his side. _No torches for me this time. _ He flicked on a small, plastic flashlight to illuminate the passage in front of him.

He only walked ten to fifteen feet through the passage until it spread out into a small room, with hundreds of holes in the wall. On the back wall stood a carving of a Macedonian Soldier holding a shield, the soldier was pointing a spear at a small embedded rock on the wall. Indy walked up to the rock and examined it closely. _ A trap ? Possibly. _ _This place looks like a sub cavern, probably the only one left from the original building, whatever happened to that one. Marcus would know. Well, here goes nothing. _ Indy pressed in on the rock, the soldier immediately moved aside scraping rock and making dust fall from the cavern ceiling. In another really small area sat a simple rock alter. On top of the alter sat a scroll.

Indy gulped as he stared at it, the yellow parchment rolled up with a single piece of silk extended out of the middle of the roll. _Be prepared to run. _He thought as he reached out to grab it. He picked up the scroll quickly and stood in one spot, listening for any traps sprung. He stood for another minute to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. _ Well, that's a relief. _

He strolled back into the previous cavern, tucking away the scroll in his bag. A large piece of soil fell on his head and covered his hat.

" We broke through ! " A digger screamed from above. _Oh great. _

Suddenly, hundreds of Methana cockroaches poured out of the holes in the wall. Indy ran out of the cavern as the floor was quickly covered by the white bugs with dark brown backs. He reached the area where he fell in and shoved the flashlight in his bag, he could hear the thousands of ticking noises behind him as the cavern filled up with the cockroaches, then started to crawl their way towards Indy. The ceiling of the cavern caved in more as the diggers made the hole wider, crushing several dozen cockroaches as the rock and soil crashed to the floor.

Indy kicked away the bugs as they started to occupy the ground behind him. He swatted away several huge cockroaches the size of his hand, as they quickly crawled along the side wall towards him.

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" Wait ! " Frank yelled as he stopped the diggers from widening the hole. He walked over to the center of the chewed up soil and rock, Oleg stood on the side with his arms crossed.

Frank took out a long black flashlight and flicked it on. He smiled at Oleg, who didn't return the smile. " Looks like we found it. " He pointed the flashlight into the hole, " It looks like the ground is covered with something white...oh god! "

He fell on his back and scrambled to get away from the hole, leaving his flashlight rolling next to it.

Some of the diggers let out pathetic sounding cries as hundreds of large white cockroaches poured out of the hole into the sunlight.

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Indy crawled his way out of the hole with two dozen of the large bugs crawling all over him, he rolled around on the ground like he was on fire, crushing the bugs with his body. He quickly stood up wiping away some that attached themselves to his pant leg. He stopped when he heard cries of disgust behind the large rock, he did a dive for the bush just as one of the diggers ran into view.

" Get back here coward ! " Oleg screamed, then a gunshot popped. The digger fell to the ground as a swarm of cockroaches crawled on his back.

Indy stayed as low to the ground as possible behind the bush, watching the bugs scamper by, right by his face. Oleg continued to yell at everyone, explaining how harmless the bugs were.

" I'll grab the stone. We'll get one of your soldiers to climb in first. " Frank said in the distance, he seemed pretty far away from the action to Indy.

Indy felt the tickle of legs scratch the back of his neck, he knew one of the damn things were on his back. But he dared not move a muscle. He felt another one crawl slowly up the backside of his thigh. He clenched his teeth waiting for a chance to slither away from this situation. _ If only I didn't lose my damn gun in that bar, I'd start shooting these bastards and get away from here. _ Frank hobbled by right in front of Indy's face under the bush. He pierced the bugs with his walking stick as he walked.

" Where is Larkinov ? " Frank growled , " He should be watching my belongings ! "

Oleg quickly appeared on the scene, with a look of disgust on his face as he viewed the area. He found Larkinov sitting next to the large rock, he was covered with the white cockroaches.

" Wake up you coward !! They're just bugs ! " Oleg shook the soldier awake.

Indy felt the offending bug crawl right inside his collar, down the front of the neck, then struggle to make it back to the top of his neck. Sweat poured from his brow as he tried to remain still. The other bug had made it to the back of his neck and started to explore with his legs.

Oleg gave the soldier a wicked backhand as his man stood on his feet, trying to shake the bugs off of him. The soldier fell to the ground again, completely confused. Oleg picked up the smaller man and screamed in his face, threatening to kill him on the spot. The soldier claimed he didn't remember passing out, and crying for forgiveness to both men.

The cockroach on Indy's neck graduated to the side of his cheek. It seemed content there, wiggling its antenna around in front of Indy's eyes.

Frank let out a scream of anguish as he rustled though his belongings.

" Where is the stone ?! " Frank yelled at the soldier.

" I-I-It should be where you left it sir ! " The soldier responded, looking at an extremely upset Oleg.

" Well, it's not here boy !! " Frank held up the empty leather pouch. A flash of urgency came across Oleg's face and he turned and started ordering his men to search the area.

_Uh oh. _The cockroach crawled to the corner of Indy's mouth, he twisted his mouth away from it. The other cockroach crawled in the behind Indy's neck, searching, tickling with its legs.

" Look !! " A soldier screamed from a distance, he pointed several hundred feet away to a pile of dust kicking up in the distance. A horse was making a run for it.

" Don't let him escape ! He has the stone !! " Frank roared as several soldiers scrambled to get to their horses. Frank hobbled off to his own horse as Oleg barked orders.

_Thank you Marcus. _Indy finally swatted away the molesting bugs and watched the men arrange a small posse' of horses. The diggers jumped on their own horses as well. _Must be getting paid well for their services. _Indy started to crawl towards a deeper section of bushes as the horses trampled by, kicking up dust and shaking the ground. The entire group trampled off leaving a thick trial of dust. _ Marcus, you better not fall off of that horse. _ One digger was having trouble jumping on his horse near the dig sight. The last remaining party had a really embarrassed expression painted on his face as he continued to try and jump up on the saddle of his horse.

_Well, there's my ride. _

End of chapter 10 -


	11. A Meeting

_Indiana Jones and the Golden Cross of Zampur' _

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_Chapter-11 - A Meeting - _

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_

The hapless digger flew over the horse and landed with a thump on his back creating a circle of dust to kick up around him. Indy smiled as he jumped up on the horse, he then got the horse moving in a hurry after Oleg, Van Holderman and his soldiers who were chasing Marcus.

He could faintly hear the popping of gunfire as he pursued the group of horses. The effort of hitting Marcus was futile as he was far from his pursuers, he could hear Oleg screaming orders.

Indy jumped from his horse and shoulder blocked a digger right off of his own horse sending him tumbling in the dirt. He moved his new ride closer to another digger who was unaware of Indy closing in on him. Indy took out and whip and reached back to crack the digger in front of him, but his whip got stuck. " Huh ? "

He turned to see Marcus holding on to the whip, half hanging off of his own horse. Indy stopped his horse and helped Marcus slow his horse down. They turned and headed in the direction of the town.

" So you sent my horse off by himself ? " Indy asked him as they trotted along.

" Seemed like a good idea at the time. " Marcus said, not looking overly confident on his horse.

* * *

Oleg waved a hand in the air as they approached the horse eating some grass. He spooked the horse and it ran off again. The remaining party showed up and surrounded the area. Frank stopped his horse next to Oleg.

" Well, " Frank said taking a hankerchief out of his breast pocket and wiping his brow, " we certainly fell for that one. "

" You foolish man. I hope you studied everything on that stone. " Oleg shot his death glare at Frank.

" Yes, " Frank said with a distant look on his face, " I have it written down. Perhaps your men could look alive now. " He nodded to several dozen horses tramping over a hill, the leader had his white turban flapping in the wind, his men followed with face masks on.

" The Pirates of Nicholas are here. " Frank reached down and removed a small revolver from his side pouch. Oleg barked orders to his soldiers, they complied by rising their machine guns, the remaining diggers screamed and made a run for it in the opposite direction.

Jermain raised a hand and his men pulled to a stop just behind his horse, spread out with rifles aimed at Oleg's men.

" Welcome to my land ! " Jermain spread his long arms out and looked around at the hills, he had a mischievous smile spread behind his beard.

" We need you to disperse, pirate. The Russian Military scoffs at little bands like yours. " Oleg barked at the leader.

" Little band ? " Jermain laughed along with his men.

" Oleg, could you please let me handle this. " Frank looked at the big Russian with worry splashed across his face. Oleg nodded reluctantly.

" I apologize for the comments my ape friend made here. Let me introduce myself, my name is Frank Van Holderman. " Oleg gave Frank a red faced death stare.

" We know who you are. You left your mark all over Greece. The rich guy from America. " Jermain crossed his arms.

" Yes, we are in the process of making a historical discovery here in Greece. But we are having problems with a certain American who keeps getting in our way. In fact, that very pest just recently acquired an artifact from my belongings just moments ago. That artifact could lead to ….."

" Sashmeal Kaan. " Jermain interjected.

" You've heard of it then. The resting place of The Golden Cross of Zampur'. " Frank was impressed by the leader of the pirate gang.

" Some people refer to it as The Hand of Zeus. But to the extent of my knowledge, it's a mere myth, Frank. " Jermain turned and gave his men a smirk.

" If you let us go peacefully, we'll cooperate with you. Perhaps we can work together to reach a profitable end. This is no myth my friend. " Frank smiled his ultra-white smile.

Jermain sat there and stared at Frank for a few minutes. He then raised his hand in the air.

" I think you should all die. But I've heard of your past discoveries Mr. Van Holderman. I will let you roam Greece unharmed. " Jermain had a large smirk going now.

" But…." Frank waited.

" But I want The Golden Cross of Zampur' for myself. Your reward is your life. Trust me when I say that if you don't do as I wish, you will not leave Greece alive, neither will your big friend here. "

" You must be joking! " Oleg screamed and held his gun tighter.

" I am not joking. " Jermain said in a harsh scowl.

" Do you realise who you are talking to pirate?! I can phone in an order to vaporize Greece, how many of your little band of pirates can survive total destruction! I hold a great gauntlet of power behind the iron curtain. "

" That won't do much good if your neck is cut open. " Jermain swished out a sword and pointed it in Oleg's direction.

" Enough ! " Frank screamed and held his hands in the air. " This fighting is pointless and its getting us nowhere, its also wasting precious time. That thief Jones is making off with the Stone as we speak ! When we find the Cross we will hand it over to you, is that alright ? "

Jermain nodded but still pointed his sword at Oleg.

" No ! It's not alright with me ! " Oleg growled.

" Oleg, trust me on this. Everything will be alright in the end. " Frank tried to calm the Russian down. After a few moments, Oleg ordered his men to stand down.

Jermain eventually did the same then rode off with his men.

" You old fool, there is NO WAY….." Oleg was quickly cut off by Frank, " Shut up Oleg ! I just told him that to get him out of our hair. As long as they leave us alone we can proceed unmolested by his pirates. "

Frank, Oleg and his men rode back to town searching for Indiana Jones and Marcus. Oleg called in several more soldiers to help with the search.


	12. The Scroll

** Indiana Jones and The Golden Cross of the Zampur' **

* * *

**Chapter 12 - The Scroll - **

* * *

**Athens **

**T**he Ancient Agora of Athens is located near the temple of Hephaestus, the entire area is covered with a grand splash of trees, making the area a deep green. Several merchants have taken up shop around the perimeter in the last few years, hoping to catch a customer coming out of the large flower shops down the street. Henry Jones Sr walked around the area, taking in the scenery. He waved away the merchants offer. He was freshly shaved and wearing a shabby brown jacket, with a wilted looking fisherman's hat on. He spotted his prey, the man with the turban and long egg colored robes. The robed man was talking to two others in a small huddle near a thick row of bushes.

_Jermain. _

Henry's plan was to talk to Jermain and get a little information from him. But he learned from some locals just how dangerous the man had become. _The Leader of The Pirates of Nicholas._ So his best option now was to follow the man in hopes of finding out where Indy and Marcus were. Jermain concluded his talk before Henry could get within hearing range of the conversation. The two men he spoke to headed off in the direction of the temple, while Jermain walked deeper into the wooded area.

Henry rubbed his chin. _I can't follow him in there without making my intentions obvious. I'll have to walk around and see if he's just taking a shortcut through the trees. _Henry walked out to the street and put his head down as several people walked by, talking loudly. Henry made it to his destination next to a merchant who was selling beef. He leaned on the side of the crudely constructed wooden shack and waited for Jermain to appear. He then felt something hard press against his back.

" We'd like to have a word with you. " A clearly male American voice whispered in Henry's left ear.

Henry slowly turned and saw his captor. A young man with blonde hair, wearing a dirty white shirt and brown trousers. The young man waved his revolver towards the large building behind him. Henry was guided inside a dark room, illuminated by an old, dusty light bulb. The young man pushed down hard on Henry's shoulder and he fell hard on a wooden seat at the head of a small table.

" What are you doing here ? " The young man demanded as he took a seat opposite Henry. A woman dressed in a dark green robe entered the room, she walked over to the young man and whispered something in his ear. The man waved her off, not taking his eyes off Henry.

" Who are you ? " Henry said finally.

The young man let out a big sigh and gave the woman a reassuring look. " I'm Seth Pachier. This is Alexis Boone. " He motioned to Alexis, who gave a little wave then crossed her arms again.

" We work for the U.S Government. We've been following Jermain for the last twenty four hours. What I want to know is, who are YOU ? "

" I'm Henry Jones Sr. I'm looking for my son. " He said in a low voice.

Seth and Alexis gave each other a shocked look of disbelief.

" Do you mean to tell me, " Seth wiped the sweat from his eyes, " that you're the father of Indiana Jones ? "

" You've seen him ? " Henry piped up a bit, hoping the agents had spotted his son.

" No, but we've worked with him. We're looking for him as well. " Alexis said with a little bit of dread in her voice.

" We've been following Jermain in hopes of contacting Indiana Jones. We've been ordered to assist Jones in any way. We also have a spy..." Seth let out a yelp as Alexis rapped him on the arm with a fist.

" Let's not give away the farm Seth. Some information _**is**_ still classified you know. "

Henry smirked at his new companions.

* * *

**Methana **

Indiana Jones looked out the dust smeared basement window at the row of soldiers hustling by.

Marcus sat at the opposite side of the small room, going through his luggage. Oleg had called in reinforcements to Methana in search of Jones. They had rummaged every building in the city , including the one they currently hid in. They moved around again when they heard the hard boots above them exit the house.

Indy turned and gave Marcus a hopeless look , " It won't be long before they find us here. "

Marcus ignored Indy as he continued to search inside his luggage for his large book.

" We should get a look at this scroll before anything exciting happens. " Indy commented, mostly to himself. Marcus made a grunting noise and heaved his book onto his own lap with a thud.

" Does the _book of Marcus_ have anything to say about escaping Methana ? " Indy joked as he opened his tan pouch and took the scroll out.

" Something is bothering me..." Marcus said distantly as he flipped through the pages.

" Well anyway, lets see what we have here. " Indy took off the protective outer sleeve of the scroll and carefully let the contents slide into his hands. He unrolled the ancient parchment written in cloth.

" Here it is. " Marcus piped up and studied the page closely. He then smiled and turned the book with a little effort to show Indy his findings.

" A drawing of Alexander The Great. " Indy said looking at the drawing of Alexander the great, riding horseback into battle.

" You see the armor he's wearing ? Look closely . " Marcus pointed to the right side of the drawing near the armpit. Indy raised his eyebrows at the small scroll poking out of Alexander's side. He looked closer. Then frowned.

" Marcus, that's his sword. "

" Look at the horse, his sword is tied to the side of it. See the small details of the parchment, its the same as the one in your hand. " Marcus smiled as Indy's jaw fell open.

Indy held up the scroll slowly to get a look at the written content on the cloth.

* * *

**JIBWHRSUVFGZPVXJUIUIJTBSUGBDU**

**GPSUPPMPOH----BSFNPWJOHJT **

**MPDBUJTF NB---PPN JOBU**

**t—styf dfsvn mksvrtpo opoi**

* * *

"A lot of its faded, but what we can make out is nonesence. " Indy said dejected, handing the scroll to Marcus.

Marcus sat there studying the scroll for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh.

" I'm baffled as to...." Marcus quickly stopped talking as he saw Indy holding his finder to his mouth in a shh position. The door above them slammed open and hard army boots stamped all over the floor. Marcus pointed to the closet, the same place they hid before, Indy shook his head and held up a finger as the noise stopped.

" What are they doing ? " Marcus mouthed the words to Indy, who shrugged and shook his head.

Then they could hear water running. Some of it leaked down to the basement to where they hid. Indy dipped a finger in the small stream of it trickling down in front of him. He sniffed his finger and gave Marcus a startled look.

" Gasoline. "


	13. Methana Escape

**Indiana Jones and The Golden Cross of the Zampur' **

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Methana Escape - **

* * *

**T**he smoke started to creep its way through the ceiling cracks, then slowly spread out to cover the basement ceiling. Indy could hear the crackling of fire on the floor above them, and Oleg outside, shouting orders at his men. He lowered his head and crouched next to Marcus. He had to think quickly or they'd die.

" We'll have to surrender, " Marcus stated, sounding nervous, " there isn't much choice."

Indy looked at the open closet door, " Not yet. "

* * *

Frank Van Holderman sat inside the army jeep drinking a glass of wine, he propped his legs on the dash and dug a book out of his carry-on bag. _These Russians don't know the term _subtle, _burning the entire town seems a bit rash. The thief Jones is probably long gone by now. I wonder how long I'll be able to put up with Oleg's incompetence. Just look at that brute, screaming at his men. I bet they'd appreciate a more respectful leader than Oleg. _As if reading Frank's thoughts, Oleg screamed even louder, making Frank wince as he opened his book to start reading. He tried reading one single page of his book, but the soldiers started to yell frantically as something smashed from behind the burning home. Frank placed the open book down on the dash of the jeep and stood up to see what was going on.

* * *

" Hold on ! " Indy roared as they crashed out of the back window of the burning home inside an old canoe. They landed hard on the loose ground, sloped down towards the lake. Marcus quickly grabbed his luggage as it nearly fell over the side of the canoe as it bounced. Dirt started to spit up around them in small puffs as the Russian soldiers opened machine gun fire from the top of the bank. Indy quickly regained his composure and grabbed an old oar from the bottom of the canoe, he reached over the side with it, but it quickly snapped in half off of a passing rock, the broken piece whizzed by Marcus's head inches away. Indy looked down at the broken handle in his hand and shrugged. He dug the sharp end of the handle into the ground to try and steer the canoe away from a group of large trees approaching in front of them.

Several motorbikes ramped off of the top of the bank in pursuit of the runaway canoe, the Russian soldiers fired their machine guns when they had the chance. Indy steered the canoe away from the trees, but the old craft scraped on a rock and part of the side cracked off. " This boat won't last long Indy ! " Marcus yelled, holding on for dear life.

Indy spied another group of trees coming in the distance, he couldn't turn left or they would fly down a long cliff to the rocky coast, he had to turn right, but that side of the canoe was damaged. The loud roar of a motorbike caught his attention to his immediate left, he watched in shock as a soldier struggled to untangle his machine gun from his shoulder strap. He looked at his broken handle, then at the front tire, but reconsidered his options, he needed the handle to steer. The soldier got his machine gun free and was wheeling it into position to fire when Indy cracked his whip around the soldiers free hand on the throttle, he yanked hard. The bike suddenly jerked hard to the left and rolled end over end, sending dirt flying in all directions and the soldier cart wheeling in mid air. The machine gun landed hard right in Marcus's lap. He groaned then threw the machine gun over the side. Indy gave him a stern look.

" Keep the next one ! " Indy growled as he dug the handle hard into the passing dirt, they started to turn slightly to the right, damaging the side of the Kayak more. Another motorbike caught up to them from behind, firing the whole time.

* * *

" Shh, " Henry hushed his companions inside the old fishing boat, " I can hear gunfire. There must be something going on up there. " Seth gave Alexis a nod and they took out two sub-machine guns. Henry nodded himself, awaiting his own weapon, only to be rejected by the American agents.

" Perhaps I could throw my hat at them then. " Henry complained.

" Sorry, we can't provide a civilian….." Seth began.

" How about forgetting rules and regulations for one day, boy ! " Henry gave Seth a death glare, the young blond agent looked to Alexis for confirmation, she gave a rejected nod at the trunk. Seth sighed and opened the trunk reluctantly. Henry caught a pathetically small hand pistol.

" Great, " Henry sighed inspecting the small hand gun, " now I have something to throw at them. "

* * *

" Brace yourself, old man ! " Indy barked as they grazed the side of a large tree, the move spun the canoe around and breaking off more of the damaged side. The pursuing motorbike smashed directly into the tree creating a cloud of fire and bike parts flying in multiple directions. The canoe continued to slide down the bank, Indy and Marcus traded spots as they were turned around. More spits of dirt flicked up around them as two more motorbikes appeared firing repeatedly. One bike swerved just in time to avoid a tree, but misjudged the move as he ramped off the huge cliff to the rocks below, screaming the whole time. The remaining soldier continued to fire at the canoe, hitting the target and ripping the end of the Kayak to shreds. Another motorbike joined in the action, this one had a side car with a soldier firing his weapon, he then stopped firing then unhooked a grenade from his breast pocket.

Indy saw the end of the ride approaching, a huge cliff dropping off to the rocks below. He turned in time to see the soldier in the sidecar hooking his finger in the grenade pin. He propped up the broken handle and threw it spear-like at the soldier, the handle thumped right into his chest. He dropped the grenade inside the sidecar as he slumped to one side. The driver of the sidecar motorbike continued to fire madly at the canoe, when the entire bike exploded sending bike and body parts flying in every direction. The explosion sent the other motorbike swerving out of control. The canoe hit the side of a jutting rock pushing it violently to one side, sending more wooden parts flying in the air. Marcus held on to his luggage tightly as he watched the edge of the cliff rapidly approach as they slid towards it sideways, Indy kicked Marcus towards the end of the canoe as he saw the out of control motorbike heading at them. The motorbike smashed right through the center of the old canoe sending Indy and Marcus spinning away on two different pieces.

" Marcus ! " Indy roared as he saw Marcus barely holding on to his small piece of canoe real estate. Indy cracked his whip at the driver of the motorbike, catching him right on the elbow. He yanked hard and it caused the driver to turn sharply to the left sending his machine gun flying to the right. Marcus looked incredulously at the machine gun as it landed right on his laggage. Indy crashed right into the motorbike and jumped at the same time, he elbowed the soldier off of the bike and grabbed the handlebars as quickly as he could. He steered the motorbike hard to the right and sent a wave of dirt flying down the hill. Another Russian soldier came roaring in from behind on a modified army dirt bike, firing his machine gun the whole way. A bullet destroyed Indy's headlamp as he continued to struggle with his massive power slide down the hill. He ducked his head as more bullets destroyed the back of his seat and started sparking off parts of his bike. Then Indy heard gunfire from a different direction.

" Ahh ! " Marcus half stood in his out of control canoe end, firing his machine gun at the dirt bike. One of the bullets hit the soldier right between the eyes, sending him flying off the back of the bike. Marcus cried out a victory yell, but then let out a whimper as the ground vanished under him! He free floated in mid air, he watched his luggage fly into the distance, the broken canoe end spin away as did the machine gun, he then felt the sharp sting of a whip wrapping around his wrist. The shift in weight caused Indy to fall off of the motorbike, he slid onto his stomach sending the bike cart wheeling off of the cliff. He slid right off the side of the cliff dragging pebbles and dirt with him…

* * *

Thump !

" What was that ? " Seth looked around quickly. He then saw the luggage resting near the stern of the boat. Then a motorbike splashed into the water. The three of them looked up to a shocking sight.

* * *

Indy's arms were under great stress. He grunted as he held on to the ever expanding root pulling out of the side of the cliff. His other hand holding the whip and the dangling Marcus. His hand was starting to slowly slip from the root.

" Marcus ! " Indy grunted as his hat flew off from a gust of wind, " grab onto something ! I can't hold you ! " He watched a large centepede crawl down the length of the root and right down the sleeve of his jacket, the sensation was almost too much to hold on anymore. Marcus grabbed hold of a large boulder jutting out of the side of the cliff. Indy felt the weight shift and quickly smashed his sleeve against the cliff wall, a large chunk of dirt broke free from the edge of the cliff and smacked him right in the face. He spit out a wad of dirt, then listened carefully to more engine sounds coming from above. He craned his neck to look down, letting go wasn't an option. But he saw a fishing vessel move closer to the rocks, somebody inside threw something in the water that expanded, a floatation device !

" Let go of the whip and jump ! " Indy called down as the engines above them grew louder. Marcus let go of the whip and jumped down to the floatation device in the water. Indy followed suit. They crawled inside the fishing boat exhausted.

" I see you're still getting in trouble." Henry mock reprimanded his son as he helped him to his feet.

" Glad you could join the party, dad. " Indy gasped as he tried to catch his breath.

" Did you have to drag Marcus along ? " Henry smirked in his friends direction, Marcus was having trouble standing up.

" Don't underestimate him, " Indy grinned, "he's tough as nails. "

Marcus saluted, then fainted on the deck.

" I don't know what nails _you're_ using, but _his_ couldn't hold up a cardboard shelf. " Henry added looking at the passed out Marcus.

Alexis handed Indy his fedora, " You lost your lid. Indiana Jones. " She gave him a flirtatious smile.

He plopped his hat on his head as Seth steered them away from the cliff.

* * *

_End of chapter 13_


	14. The Secret Message

** Indiana Jones and The Golden Cross of Zampur' **

* * *

_Chapter 14 - _**The Secret Message -**

* * *

**Two days later….**

**Magna Grecia Hotel **in **The Plaka **neighbourhood - **Athena, Greece. **

The Magna Grecia Hotel was a perfect spot to rest and plan the next move for Indy and his companions. The hotel had a perfect panoramic view of the Acropolis as well as the surrounding streets. Great for seeing who would be coming or going. They chose a room with a balcony, Seth Pachier had to use his disguise for renting in Greece, Ralph Maxwell Lewis, the heir Imperator to the Rosicrucian Order. Everyone in his party were considered his aides and not to be bothered with.

Henry Jones leaned on the balcony railing, taking in the view of the city. Indiana Jones, Marcus Brody, Alexis Boone and the now changed, Seth Pachier stood around a card table with the Ica Stone and scroll on it. The scroll was unwrapped and displayed for everyone to see.

" You can see that it's made of some goat or sheep skin. The ink has faded around the top here, " Indy pointed to the top portion of the old scroll, " here and here. " He then pointed to areas near the bottom.

" We assume that this scroll was carried by Alexander the Great at one point. I think it may be a message from King Phillip II. Obviously written in code. " Marcus chimed in.

Alexis gave the scroll message a closer look.

* * *

**JIBWHRSUVFGZPVXJUIUIJTBSUGBDU**

**GPSUPPMPOH-BSFNPWJOHJT **

**MPDBUJTF NB-PPN JOBU**

**t—styf dfsvn mksvrtpo opoi**

* * *

She stood motionless for a moment, staring directly at the lettering. She brushed a long strand of brown hair away from her eyes to reveal more of her moon shaped face. She then let out a little sigh and gave Seth a knowing look. " This is my area. "

Seth understood. " Perhaps we could join your father on the balcony ? " The young blond agent motioned with his hands at the two men to follow him. Indy gave the agent a peculiar look then followed him outside.

" I'm not into sight seeing right now Seth. " Indiana scowled as they stood next to Henry, who looked at them all like they lost their minds.

" She needs to do her thing alone, she's a professional code breaker. There can't be even the slightest distraction while she does this. " Seth stated as he eyed Alexis through the balcony window, she was talking to herself and writing down notes on a pad. " It shouldn't take too long. "

* * *

Two hours later …

The balcony door opened and a very dejected Alexis Boone walked out of it. The four men stood up from the chairs arranged around the balcony. She shrugged her shoulders. " It's a big jumble of nothing. I tried several possible languages, variants of symbolism and it still remains just a big tangle of letters. "

They all walked back inside and spread out around the table. " That was a waste of time. " Indy muttered. Henry slapped Indy on the back of his hatless head. Indy gave his father a surprised and hurt look.

" Apologise to the lady, " Henry gave his son a fatherly scowl, " and show some manners in the future. "

" Sorry Alexis. Really. " Indy bowed red faced. Everyone else erupted in laughter, including Henry.

" O.K, O.K , " Indy held up his hands to stop the laughing, " lets get back to work here. "

Henry took off his hat and placed it on the table, he gave his short, white beard a rub with his thumb and forefinger as he eyed the scroll. He eyed Marcus mouthing words to himself while staring at the parchment.

" Marcus, " Henry started, getting his friends attention, " what kind of material would come from Macedonia in those times to use for a scroll ? "

" Sheep would be possible as material. But if I never laid my eyes on this scroll before now, I'd have guessed….."

" Leather ! " Indy cut off Marcus as he saw where his father was going with this. He picked up the scroll and suddenly realised how much heavier it seemed now. He gave the others a knowing glare then peeled back two thin layers of the parchment near the bottom of the scroll. He then carefully pulled out a brand new sheet of parchment in between the peeled back layers, it was made of leather.

" Good way to throw off your enemy, with a false code. " Alexis smiled as Seth gave her a wink.

Indy carefully spread out the leather page in the center of the table. The entire square sheet was full of intricately carved letters, dug into the sheet with a sharp object. It was written in a Macendonain language. Indy nodded to Marcus, " You're up, Marcus. "

Marcus stood over the square of leather, took a deep breath as he leaned in close, and began, " Our King has ordered _the gift from the gods _to be transported to _The Temple_. I know how it must pain you to hear this…" Marcus leaned closer, then gave the others a shrug as he couldn't make out the next few words, he then placed his finger over the next part of the leather and continued, " ….as the success of The Zampur' has clearly demonstrated its power. But you Alexander, you know it's dark secret and why Our King must hide it forever. It is not the god you thought, was it ? I removed _The Stone _from your map room in Alexandropoulos as Our King has requested. Our King is attending the theatre in Aegae, as you and Olympias have explained. He will wave us away, as usual. But I will sneak in and end his ways. He will regret his decision to not punish Attalus. "

Everyone was silent for a moment as Marcus whiped his brow. Indy had a wide, excited grin on his face. Marcus started shaking his head in amazement.

" So, " Alexis started, " for those of us who aren't historically connected, could you shine a little light our way ? "

Marcus smiled as he excitedly explained the message to Alexis, " It's a secret message from Pausanias to Alexander the Great. Pausanias was a young Macedonian guard who was often protecting King Phillip II. The King's divorce of Olympias and his recent falling out with Alexander were once mere speculation behind his assassination. This is _clear proof _that they were both behind it. "

" That's not the _fun_ part. " Indy smiled, " The Golden Cross is referred to as the _gift from the gods_, and it says there that it was moved to _The Temple_, we can assume its _Sashmeal Kaan_. It says - I removed _The Stone…" _Indy pointed to the Ica Stone, " ..from your _map room _in _Alexandroupolis_.. "

Marcus gave Indy a warning stare, " But did you also see the words _Dark_ _Secret ? _"

Indy waved away the comment and picked up The Ica Stone. Henry watched intently as they went over the symbols all over the sides of it.

" What are these triangle jewels on both ends of it ? " Henry asked as Indy turned the stone over to study the Golden Cross carving on the bottom side.

" Don't know. But I'm sure we'll find out at the map room in Alexandroupolis. "

* * *

**Meanwhile…..**

Oleg Bazhukov threw a Russian soldier hard onto the back of an old jeep. They were inside a huge, dark green tent on the outskirts of Greece. The soldier tried to sit up as he felt his new gash on his cheek, but Oleg gave him a hard, polished, black army boot to the face, knocking the young man out.

" By god, " Frank Van Holderman exclaimed as he strolled towards the scene dressed in a long, black robe and a silk, red shirt. " you are extraordinarily hard on your men Oleg ! " He crossed both hands over his lionhead walking stick and slightly leaned on it.

" _This_ is _not _one of my men ! " Oleg growled and rubbed a hand through his greying brown hair as he handed Frank a transcript. The older archeologist studied the sheet with curiosity.

" An american spy ? Fascinating ! " Frank flashed a bright, white smile as he continued to read the sheet.

" So Indiana Jones has two american spys helping him as well. Perhaps this Paltro Fargusson can lead us to his friends. I'm sure you have persuasive ways to get information from captured spys ? " Frank raised his grey eyebrows at Oleg.

" It shouldn't take much poking to get this pig to squeal. I'll make sure he contacts his friends. " Oleg stared down at the unconscious spy with great distain. He then yelled orders in Russian and three soldiers arrived, they dragged Paltro away.

Frank and Oleg stood motionless as they watched the Russian soldiers struggle to place Paltro in the back of a shiny, new military jeep.

" Indiana Jones escaped your men in a canoe, you said. " Frank muttered.

" Don't remind me . " Oleg let out a deep sigh.

" I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep ; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. " Frank smiled brightly at his companion as he walked towards his camper.

* * *

**Meanwhile….**

At the end of street, just down from The **Magna Grecia Hotel, **Jermain, the leader of _The_ _Pirates of Nicholas_, sat at the corner of a dark restaurant. He had two scantily clad women snuggled close by to him on either side as he fed them grapes. A dark figure barged his way inside the restaurant as patrons quickly moved aside for him, the figure arrived in front of Jermain, with his mask raised over his mouth with the picture of a red eyed tiger on it.

" They…." The figure began but was hit with a handful of grapes right in the face.

" You will not discuss anything in front of these two godesses. " Jermain raised his hand to dismiss the beautiful women. One of them flirted with his beard before departing. " Continue. "

" They are excited about something, the American's are quickly preparing to leave. " The pirate reported, nervously.

" Good work. " Jermain said, popping a grape into his mouth. " Continue to monitor them at a safe distance. When they find Sashmeal Kaan, I want to know immediately. "

Jermain watched his pirate leave the restaurant. _My army of pirates, they'll soon recognise true power. World power. _Jermain took an aged knife out of his turban, it had a white handle with the word _Alexander_ engraved in gold, running right up to the replaced blade. He then started to mumble to himself, quietly. " _Alexander then turned northward to central Asia Minor, to the city of Gordium. Gordium was a home of the famous so-called Gordian Knot. Alexander knew the legend that said that the man who could untie the ancient knot was destined to rule the entire world. To that date nobody had succeeded in solving the knot. But the young Macedonian king simply slashed it with his knife, unravelling its ends. " _

* * *

_End of chapter..._


	15. Alexandropolis

** Indiana Jones and The Golden Cross of the Zampur' **

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_Chapter 15 - Alexandroplis -_

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**Southwestern Bulgaria **- 50 Miles from Sandanski -

" Marcus, are you sure this is the city of Alexandropolis ? " Henry asked, kicking over a mound of dirt. They were high into the barren hills in the middle of nowhere. The area was an endless sea of boulders and dirt. They had uncovered old settlements from primitive tribes here and there, but nothing of any significance.

" Adjust your eyes, my friend. Picture this land a long time ago. There were natives living here first, then Alexander took this place for himself and renamed it. But many wars have passed and this area long forgotten. " Marcus rubbed his hand over the side of a large boulder to reveal an unnatural indent on the side.

" What is it ? " Alex Boone asked, staring into the carved square in the boulder.

" Judging by the debris in the area, this was used to prop a large piece of timber over a settlement. " Indiana explained as he pointed to old pieces of wood scattered at the far side of the clearing. He cleared off more dirt inside the carved out squared and examined the cuts made. He made a face and turned to Marcus, " Hey. "

" What is it ? " Marcus said absently as he walked slowly around another boulder.

" What about the Alexandroupolis that we know about ? You know, the one on the map ? " Indy was irritated, he assumed that they were going to that particular location, instead they were here in the middle of nowhere.

" An unimportant fishing village. _This_ area is where we're supposed to be. This is _The City of Alexander_. " Marcus wiped his sweat filled forehead and continued walking around the area.

" You've been here before ? " Seth asked, watching Marcus carefully.

" Don't be silly, young man. " Marcus nervously answered, " its merely common knowledge among us Greek experts. "

" Is it ? " Henry eyed his old friend as well.

Marcus tried to ignore his companions as he searched around more, but he could feel all their eyes on him now.

" I surrender, " He smiled as he looked at Seth, " many years ago, we discovered an old map while we were digging around a well known ruin site in Kalavryta. This location was marked on the map as Thracedonis. We know every region Alexander conquered, but never has Thracedonis come up as one of them. Soon we understood that Thracedonis was Alexandropolis. We searched this area for hours, but I was a little under the weather at the time and we abandoned our search. "

" I don't see any evidence to suggest that there was anything here much larger than a tent. Are you sure we're in the right spot ? Wouldn't we see at least some remains of a least a home or temple ? " Indiana threw down an old piece of timber and clapped the dust off of his hands.

Marcus walked to the edge of a steep embankment, it overlooked another stretch of barren hillside. He stood there for a moment, in silence as he viewed something near the side of a distant hill. It was an odd triangular shaped mound of dirt sticking out over the slope. _We were on the wrong hill the entire time. __We're going to need to get the shovels. _

" Patience is the key to paradise. " Marcus said finally as he smiled.

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**Hours later ...**

After a long hike back to the truck to retrieve some shovels, and the return hike over the unridable terrain, Indy, Seth and Alexis continued to dig into the oddly shaped triangular dirt mound jutting out of the hillside. The sun had dipped out of sight and Henry placed lamps around the perimeter of the dig.

" Let's call it a day. " Alexis wheezed as she leaned on her shovel, she was drenched with sweat. Indy and Seth both had their shirts off and had them wrapped around their heads. Seth took a long drink of water and patted his partner on the arm. She took a drink and handed it back.

" I found something ! " Indiana roared from inside the large hole they had dug out. Everyone ran around the edge of the hole, Henry grabbed a lamp and shined the light right on Indy. Indiana Jones rammed his shovel hard into the ground and watched the others react as the metal shovel hit a solid object and clanked loudly.

" You found rock, Junior. Good work. " Henry teased.

" It's a kind of rock that shouldn't be there. " Indy shot back as he continued to clear the dirt away from the rock. Everyone remained silent as Seth pitched in with his own shovel.

" Incredible. " Marcus breathed as the rock became more visible, it was black volcanic rock.

Indy and Seth crawled out of the hole and removed their shirt hats, they each began to wipe the sweat and dirt off their faces.

" It's a door. " Indy said simply as he took a long drink of water.

" Gear up then lads. We're going to open it ! " Marcus was full of excitement as he grabbed a nearby lamp. Indy, Seth and Alexis put on fresh clothes. Finally, Indy placed his fedora firmly on his head.

" What are we waiting for ? Age before beauty. " Indy held out his hand for Henry and Marcus to pass into the hole.

" Wisdom before brawn. " Henry muttered as he slid into the dug out earth.

" Perfection before incomp..."

Indy quickly cut off Marcus , " Just get in the hole, you old fossil ."

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They entered the cavern after sliding the large volcanic door to one side. A wave of stale air hit them immediately. All of them held a small lantern to light the way. There was a shoulder width stone path that stretched into the darkness ahead. After a few minutes of walking the path widened, there were Zampur' warrior carvings on each side of the walls now. They arrived at a stone wall with a detailed fighting scene carved into the stone. A troop of Macedonian warriors on horse back, armoured fully, fighting an outnumbered group of Persians who were barely clothed, but with lions and dogs helping them fight.

" Dead end ? " Alexis breathed, barely over a whisper to Seth.

" I doubt it. Why go through all the trouble ? " He whispered back.

Indy rubbed his hand over the carving. Marcus and Henry started dusting off different parts of the detailed stone carving. They searched every inch of the battle scene without success.

" Alexander was a bit of an ego maniac. " Marcus muttered, mainly to himself.

" He was also an alcoholic, " Indy barked, " what's your point ? "

" Well, " Marcus rubbed his chin, " he doesn't seem to be here on this carving. If he used this facility at all, he'd be portrayed all over it. "

Henry walked back to where the Zampur' warrior carvings began at the end of the tunnel. Every Zampur' warrior had identical armour, with the sun shaped Macedonian symbol proudly displayed on the front of the shield.

" Here, " Henry pointed to the last warrior in line on the right side, " every warrior has the same armour. But _this _one has a slightly different symbol on his shield. " Everyone gathered and stared at the carving. The warrior's shield was different, instead of the wavy lines coming from the sun, the lines were jagged, like lightning bolts.

Indy gave the others a look then pressed the middle of the sun. The sun moved in and a clicking noise could be heard. There was a loud clanking, grinding noise coming from behind the battle carving. Then, the carving separated in the middle and moved to each side.

Indiana gave his father a pat on the back. " Now I know where I get it from. "

" Your looks still remain a mystery. " Henry smirked as they entered the new hallway beyond the carving. Indy's expression quickly turned sour as Alexis and Seth started to visibly shake from withheld laughter.

They approached a large, upper torso statue of Alexander The Great, from the floor to the ceiling, the detailed statue exaggerated his greatness. He was depicted as an Apotheosis of Alexander , his transformation into a god, his hair entwined with lightning bolts, his muscles bulging, a sword in one hand and the remains of something in the other. Whatever it was, it had broken off and all that remained was a small cylinder shaped object in his fist.

" Well, " Marcus smiled, " that's more like it. "

There was another volcanic rock door just to the right of the massive statue. They slid that door aside and entered a massive room. There were giant, bare pillars of all shapes and sizes stretching out to the tall ceiling above. Some pillars seemed to be made of solid gold. The large area created echo's from even the slightest movement. They stood on a raised platform that dipped twenty feet to the floor beyond. But there was nothing of significance on the platform.

" What _is_ this ? " Seth asked, astounded. His voice echoed.

" I assume that this is the map room Pausanias referred to in his letter. " Marcus took in the view of the massive room.

" I don't see any maps, Marcus. " Indy stated as he started to feel around the nearby walls.

" Curious. This looks like a giant storage facility of some kind. I can't imagine this place would be full of maps. The walls are bare, everything is..." Henry trailed off.

" Everything is bare. Even the pillars. " Marcus added, bewildered.

" Hold on to my whip, " Indy elbowed Seth, " I'm goin' down there. "

Seth held tight as Indy started to rappel down to the floor. Indiana Jones walked across the large area, kicking up small clouds of dust as he walked across the huge, pillar dotted room. He came to the far wall and looked to the ceiling. Something didn't sit right with him as he realized something_. I shouldn't be able to see the ceiling from here_. He touched the wall and felt the odd texture of the surface.

" Turn off your lamps ! " Indy roared at the others up on the platform. Everyone turned off their lamps, the room remained lit.

" What in the world ? " Seth and the others stared in amazement.

" The room is naturally lit by the stonework ! It's glowing ! " Indy roared again, creating a long echo.

" That's...that's impossible. " Marcus sputtered.

" That, " Henry patted Marcus Brody on the back, " is ingenious carpentry at it's very best. "

Indy crawled back onto the platform with Seth's help. Marcus and Henry were in a deep discussion on how to proceed.

" Figure anything out yet ? " Indy said as he dusted off his pants.

" Not yet. " Marcus gave Indy a hopeless shrug. Indy walked back out of the room and stared at the huge statue of the Apotheosis of Alexander. Seth and Alexis joined him. They lit their lamps that created long shadows over Alexander's face.

" What are you thinking, Jones ? " Alexis asked as she studied the statue more closely.

" I'm thinking there's another entrance somewhere, " Indy started pressing on different parts of the statue, " there's something were obviously missing here. "

" Well, " Seth started, " there _is_ something missing in his hand there. "

Indy looked at the broken off part of whatever the fist held in the statues hand.

" Could be a shield or probably the staff itself. But he's holding it sideways. " Indy rubbed his chin.

Indy reached up and punched the object in the statues fist. It moved slightly. He gave the agents a satisfied grin. He punched the object a few more times before it came loose and fell out one side of the stone fist, a chain was attached to the heavy stone. It started to drag the large arm of Alexander to the floor, slowly.

" Hey, " Marcus roared from inside the chamber, " you did something ! " They ran into the room to see a square alter rise up in the middle of the platform.

They studied the top of the alter, it was also bare. Except one small, rounded knob sticking out of the direct centre of it. Indy stared at the protrusion. He reached into his sack and retrieved The Ica Stone. He turned the stone over to see the small indentation in the dead centre of the Golden Cross engraving. He placed the stone directly over the protrusion and it fit perfectly. They waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

" It fits, " Indy said, taking off his fedora and wiping his brow, " but it doesn't do anything. "

" Turn it. " Marcus suggested. Indy tried, but the stone was fasted to the contours of the hole, he couldn't manipulate it at all.

Alexis raised her arm that was holding the lantern to wipe her brow, she stood behind the stone alter, the room flashed in a dramatically different colour for a split second while she wiped the sweat away. Everyone except Alexis noticed the split second change and gave each other a slack jawed excited look. " What's with you guys ? "

" Step aside for a second. " Indy commanded as he grabbed a lamp off of the floor.

Indy held the lamp up to one of the triangular gems on the end of the Ice Stone. The room changed into a huge display of Europe. Everyone gasped. They suddenly understood why it was called the map room now.

" Fascinating. Just completely fascinating. " Marcus could hardly contain his excitement.

The pillars added a three dimensional effect as the map showed every city, river and castle base in Europe. The names were outdated, some cities no longer existed, plenty of the names have changed, some woods no longer there.

" It's essentially an old, highly detailed map of Europe. With the exception of a few details here and there, I have the same map at home. " Marcus said, dejected.

" I don't get it. Besides being extremely useful to Alexander, how does this tie into the golden cross ? " Seth asked, mesmerized by the room filled with names.

" Let me try something." Indy took the lamp away from the stone and the room returned to the normal blandness. Everyone rubbed their eyes to adjust to the change. He picked up the stone and turned it around, he replaced the stone then held the lamp up to the gem. The room filled up with a different version of Europe.

" This looks like a tactical version of Europe before Alexander. There's routes and bases named here and there. Wait, there's where we are. Right there. " Marcus pointed to an area on the map. " Thracedonis, you see. We are..."

" Marcus, " Indiana interrupted, " check out the name under Mesopotamia. "

"The Great Temple, in Persian. Witch translates to Greek to English... " Marcus's voice caught, " Sashmeal Kaan. "

End of chapter 15 -


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